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Foods of pigeons and doves in fragmented landscapes of subtropical eastern Australia

Gosper, C.R. and Gosper, D.G. (2008) Foods of pigeons and doves in fragmented landscapes of subtropical eastern Australia. Australian Field Ornithology, 25 (2). pp. 75-86.

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Publisher URL: http://www.birdobservers.org.au

Abstract

We report dietary items of pigeons and doves from northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, obtained from opportunistic sampling of the gut contents of dead birds and observing foraging birds. Most records were from fragmented rainforest habitats, which now support abundant invasive fleshy-fruited plants. The fruits and seeds of invasive plants, particularly Camphor Laurel Cinnamomum camphora, formed the dominant food of several of the species sampled, although in some cases these birds appear to destroy most of the ingested seeds in the gizzard, thereby not contributing to weed dispersal. We also describe the first records of White-headed Pigeons Columba leucomela eating flowers and Brown Cuckoo-Doves Macropygia amboinensis eating flower buds. Camphor Laurel, via flowers, green and ripe fruits, and seeds, provided food for White-headed Pigeons in the Goolmangar district of New South Wales throughout the entire year. Seventy percent of the plant species whose fruits and seeds were recovered from the gut had not previously been recorded as food items for those bird species, illustrating how little is known about the diets of pigeons and doves in fragmented Australian landscapes.

Item Type:Article
Corporate Creators:QPIF
Additional Information:© Bird Observation & Conservation Australia.
Keywords:Subtropical eastern Australia; foods of pigeons and doves.
Subjects:Science > Zoology > Chordates. Vertebrates > Birds
Animal culture > Feeds and feeding. Animal nutrition
Live Archive:13 Aug 2009 05:08
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:48

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