Justification This species is classified as Near Threatened because it has a moderately small population which is declining as a result of hunting and logging. It has disappeared from some parts of its small range, and one highly distictinctive subspecies is probably already extinct.

Family/Sub-family Columbidae

Species name author Temminck, 1830

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

unknown

decreasing

6,200 km²

No

Range & population Columba janthina is an uncommon and local resident in Japan, on small islands off southern Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, south through the Nansei Shoto islands to the Yaeyama Islands and the Izu Islands to the Ogasawara and Iwo Islands. It occurs locally on small islands off the south coast of South Korea, and it has been recorded (presumably as a vagrant) in eastern Russia, Shandong, mainland China and Taiwan (China). Although it is still relatively common on the Izu Islands, it has apparently declined there since the 1950s, it was thought to have declined on Okinawa during the 1980s because of forestry activities, the subspecies C. j. nitens (which used to occur on the Ogasawara and Iwo Islands) is almost certainly extinct.

Ecology: It inhabits dense subtropical forest and warm temperate evergreen broadleaf forests, and is heavily dependent on mature forest.

Threats It is thought that hunting and deforestation are causing this pigeon to rapidly decline.

Conservation measures underway None is known.

Conservation measures proposed Survey to assess population size. Regularly monitor to determine population trends. Investigate its tolerance of degraded forest and the extent of hunting by local residents. Control hunting where possible, perhaps using awareness campaigns. Protect significant areas of intact forest on a number of islands across its range. Investigate the taxonomic status of the two races. Attempt to discover any remaining populations of the subspecies C. j. nitens.

References BirdLife International (2001).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Columba janthina. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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