Nicobar pigeon: The closest relative of the dodo

The Nicobar pigeon, native to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Malay Archipelago and some islands of Micronesia, is hailed as one of the most beautiful pigeons in the world. It’s draped in a colourful plumage—with hues of green, blue, yellow and copper—that explode into a bomb of colours in the sunlight. The bird’s feathers are iridescent due to the many layers of keratin air sacs in the feathers. Its ornate look makes it a prime attraction in many zoos and aviaries across the world.

But that’s not the only fascinating fact about the Nicobar pigeon. DNA studies have shown that it is also the only living cousin of extinct birds like the dodo, the Rodrigues solitaire of Madagascar and the spotted green pigeon of the Pacific Islands. Scientists have identified two subspecies of the pigeon: one is endemic to Palau Island in the Pacific Ocean, and the other subspecies is found in all other parts of its range.

Nesting in large colonies on the trees of dense forests, the female lays one or two eggs in the breeding season. Once the eggs hatch, both parents feed the chicks ‘pigeon milk’—a mammalian milk-like crumbly secretion high in fat and protein produced in the neck pouch of most pigeons. The Nicobar pigeon eats various food—seeds, fruits, buds and grains. Since it lacks grinding teeth, it ingests stones, like other herbivorous birds and dinosaurs to grind food.

The bird’s beauty has become a bane for its own survival as Nicobar pigeons are trapped for the pet trade. They are also hunted for food on many islands where they live. Some people are after the bird for the gizzard stone, found in its stomach, which is used in jewellery. As we clear the forests in many of the islands that are home to these birds, for plantations, timber or development, the bird’s habitat is rapidly being lost. Macaques, rats and cats, introduced into the islands by humans, have also decreased their numbers. Today, the Nicobar pigeon is classified as ‘Nearly Threatened’ by the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. Will the Nicobar pigeon’s fate follow that of its extinct cousin? We will know with time.

—Spoorthy Raman