EEP Crowned pigeon number 4

EEP STUDBOOK CROWNED PIGEONS
Fauna
As already mentioned, definitely the most remarkable species inhabiting New Guinea are the
large number of monotremes and marsupials: four ordes, comprising 8 families with a total of
67 species, most of them also divided into many subspecies (Menzies, 1997).
New Guinea and islands near by have a lot of pigeons that are mainly terrestrial, like Goura,
Trugon, Otidiphaps and Microgoura. It may be significant that these occur in an area where
the only gamebirds of comparable size are the megapodes.
The abundance of forest-dwelling arboreal pigeons in the Austro-Malayan sub-region is
probably, as was long ago suggested by Wallace (1865, in Goodwin, 1983), correlated with
the absence of monkeys from this area, for these mammals are being considered serious
predators on the eggs and young of any birds that build relatively unconcealed open nests in
the branches (Goodwin, 1983).
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