Family/Sub-family Columbidae

Species name author Kittlitz, 1832

Taxonomic source(s) Brooks (2000), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Summary Columba versicolor was endemic to Nakondo Shima and Peel Island (Chichi-juma) in the Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-shoto), Japan². It is known from four specimens, in Frankfurt, Leningrad and Tring¹. It was last recorded in 1889³. Japanese Wood-Pigeon C. janthina has also become extinct in the Bonin Islands, and on Kita-iwo-jima and Iwo-jima immediately to the south, although survives on other offshore Japanese islands³.

Ecology: It inhabited the lush forested interior of the small islands in its range.

Threats Its extinction presumably resulted from clearance of the islands' subtropical evergreen forest, and from predation by introduced cats and rats³.

References 1. Brazil (1991). 2. Goodwin (1967). 3. Stattersfield et al. (1998).

Text account compilers Tom Brooks (Conservation International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Tom Brooks (Conservation International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Columba versicolor. 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.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums