2.2.1. The Common Crowned Pigeon (Goura cristata Pallas 1764)
The Common Crowned Pigeon (Goura cristata) has many names, such as Western Crowned-Pigeon, Masked Goura, Masked Crowned-Pigeon, Grey Crowned-Pigeon, Blue Goura, Grey Goura (English), Goura couronne (French), Gura occidental (Spain) and in Germany as Krontaube (Beehler et al 1986;
Goodwin, 1983; and Baptista et al 1997).
In Papua Indonesia, this bird is recognized locally as ‘mambruk polos’ or
‘mambruk kelabu’, and also as ‘mambruk Ubiaat’ (Beehler et al 1986). This bird was discovered by Dampier in 1700 (Iridale 1956) and was firstly described scientifically by Pallas 1764 as Columba cristata (see Mc Moris 1976 in Nijboer and Damen 2000). Other names of this bird were G.coronata (Linnaeus in Nijboer & Damen 2000) and Goura cinerea (Hartert 1895 in Mayr, 1941), but
“G.cristata” is generally accepted recently.
Besides body features that are mentioned earlier, Common Crowned Pigeon also has a large blue “crown” on the head. Each of its wings has a small white spotted mark. This species is blue-greyish, with some paler grey part or creamy tinge on its breast. As for all Goura, this species has a well-built body with rather long and stout legs, equipped with a larger laterally-compressed crest of lacy feathers (Nijboer and Damen 2000). The upper part of the mantle and most wings are dark purplish red or dark wine red. This species is infinitely a subject to partial melanism and the individuals with varying or often extensive black where patch on around the head, back to upper converts and belly to under tail-converts (Gibbs et al 2001). Melanism is the condition of increase on black or nearly black pigmentation of the feathers that seems to occur more frequently in
13 G.cristata minor than G. cristata cristata (Goodwin, 1977). The Common Crowned Pigeon usually have clown-like patterns in their body, but some others are all greyish. This bird has around 66 cm height (Beehler et al 1986) and 1800-2400 g weight (Baptista et al 1997).
2.2.2. The Victoria’s crowned pigeon (Goura victoria Fraser 1844)
Victoria’s Crowned Pigeon was described firstly as Lophyrus victoria (Fraser 1844 in Proc. Zool. Soc. London, page 136 in Mayr 1941 and Nijboer &
Damen 2000). This bird has several different names such as White-tipped Goura, White-tipped Crowned Pigeon (English), Goura de Victoria (French), Fächertaube (Germany) and Gura Victoria (Spain) (Goodwin 1977; Baptista et al, 1997). In Papua Indonesia, this bird is called locally as ‘mambruk raja’ or ‘mambruk kembang”. The bird has two subspecies, G.victoria victoria (described by Fraser 1984) and G.victoria beccarii (described by Salvadori 1876). The name of
“Victoria” has been given to the bird as an honour to Queen Victoria, England’s queen at that time (Fleay 1961 in Rand and Gilliard 1967).
This species can be distinguished simply from the other two Goura species due to its white tips on the crest. The crest of Victoria’s Crowned Pigeon is blue with combination between blue and white tips and the barbs at their ends are only slightly separated (Baptista et al 1997). This bird is darker than the Common Crowned Pigeon. Furthermore, Victoria’s Crowned Pigeon has a pale blue spot on each wing that are very-well visible if the bird is not spreading its wings.
Actually, the bird’s general colour is dark-greyish blue, with dark-purplish red breast, the wings are patched pale-greyish blue, with dark purple edges, the irises are red or purplish red, the beak is dark grey, and the bird has purplish red legs and feet (Baptista et al 1997). The bird’s nominated form is slightly smaller and rather darker in colour. Similar with Common Crowned Pigeon, Victoria Crowned Pigeon is about 66 cm in size (Beehler et al 1986), with about 2000 g in weight (Baptista et al 1997). The biggest individual recorded was 74 cm height and weight of 2384 g (Baptista et al 1997).
The main diets of these species usually consist of fallen fruits from forest trees, including berries and hard-coated seeds (Peckover and Filewood 1976,
14 Coates 1985). In captivity the birds can be adapted to sliced fruit, grapes, lettuce, maize, carrots, peanuts and especially fond of the wild fig fruit Ficus macrophylla (Fleay 1961 in Rand and Gilliard 1967)
2.2.3. The Scheepmakeri’s crowned pigeon (Goura scheepmakeri Finch 1876)
This species was discovered by the Italian explorer D’Albertis and firstly described by Finch (1st of April 1876 in Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1875 page 631 plate 68 in Mayr 1941 and Nijboer & Damen 2000). Goura scheepmakeri is also named as “Maroon-breasted Crowned Pigeon, The Southern-Crowned Pigeon, Scalter’s Crowned Pigeon, Scheepmaker’s Crowned Pigeon and Great Goura (English), Goura de scheepmaker (French), Gura Surena (Spain)” and in Germany as “Maronenbrust-Krontaube” (Goodwin 1977, Beehler et al 1986 and Baptista et al 1997). In Indonesia, this species is named locally as “mambruk besar” or
“mambruk ungu”.
The Scheepmakeri Crowned Pigeon is just as blue as the Common Crowned Pigeon, but its blue colour is more intensive than that of the Victoria Crowned Pigeon. The Scheepmakeri has a deeply red breast, its crest only has blue colour, and the wings have a brightly white spot, which is larger if compared with the spot on Common Crowned Pigeon wings. The Scheepmakeri Crowned Pigeon is differed from Common Crown Pigeon due to its colour on certain body parts including the dark purplish red belly and breast specifically below the neck (Gibbs et al 2001, Baptista et al 1997). Its mantle and smaller wings are covered with dark-greyish blue feathers like upper part of the breast and the wings are patched with very pale whitish grey.
The subspecies Goura scheepmakeri scheepmakeri is slightly different from the other sub species G.scheepmakeri scalaterii. The lower breast and belly of G.scheepmakeri sclaterii are greyish blue but in G.scheepmakeri scheepmakeri dark purplish red (Baptista et al 1997). The breast and the belly of both sub species can be in maroon colour like that of Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Beehler et al 1986). Scheepmakeri’s irises are deep red and the bill is dark bluish grey and it has purplish red legs and feet (Baptista et al 1997). Partial melanism also occurs
15 in Scheepmakeri Crowned Pigeon, but not as frequent as in the Common Crowned Pigeons.
Originally, Scheepmakeri Crowned Pigeons live along the whole south coast of New Guinea, but according to Beehler et al (1986) the range of G.
scheepmakeri probably extends until Etna Bay. Goura scheepmakeri scheepmakeri inhabits the dry and flooded lowland forest from Hall Sound to Orangerie Bay at the south eastern part of New Guinea (Rand and Gilliard 1967).
The other subspecies G.scheepmakeri sclaterii can be found between Mimika River and Fly River in the south of New Guinea (King and Nijboer, 1994). These two sub-species usually live separately in long distance and this might be the reason why there are many variations between them. It seems that G.
scheepmakeri is fully disappeared from south-eastern part, as the result of the increase of human population in the area, but this species can be reasonably safe in the west of New Guinea area that has less human population (Beehler et al 1986).