Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was found on Mauritius, and although it persisted alongside humans for over two-centuries it eventually became extinct owing largely to deforestation. The last specimen was taken in 1826, with the last account in 1832. The species may have persisted until 1837.
Population justification
This species has no extant population.
Trend justification
This species is known to be extinct. The species persisted alongside humans and introduced predators for almost two centuries (Hume 2017). The primary cause of its eventual extinction is thought to be deforestation (Hume 2017). The last specimen was taken in 1826 (Hume 2017), and the last account of the species was given in 1832, which stated that the species still persisted in remote intact forest (Desjardins 1832). The species possibly survived until 1837 (Hume 2017).
Alectroenas nitidissimus is known only from three skins (Cheke 1987) and a number of descriptions and paintings (Tuijn 1969, Cheke 1987), from Mauritius (Cowles 1987).
Little is known about this species. One observer reported that it inhabited river banks and fed on fruit and freshwater molluscs (Milbert 1812), which has been disputed by others (Hume 2017). As with other blue pigeons, it is expected that the species occurred in small flocks or pairs, and movements were dictated by fruit availability (Hume 2017). It likely inhabited montane, evergreen forests, and foraged on fruit predominantly in trees in fruit (Hume 2017).
The species persisted despite human occupation and the presence of introduced predators for over two centuries (Hume 2017). Although it is likely that hunting and predation were impacting the species, the primary driver of its extinction is thought to be deforestation (Hume 2017), which is the main threat to blue pigeons today (Baptista et al. 1997). Particularly, the final account of the species stated that it only persisted in remote, intact forest (Desjardins 1832), suggesting its forest dependence was high.
Text account compilers
Symes, A., Khwaja, N., Brooks, T., Martin, R., Mahood, S., Richardson, L.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Mauritius Blue-pigeon Alectroenas nitidissimus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mauritius-blue-pigeon-alectroenas-nitidissimus on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.