Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Population justification
There is no overall estimate of the population size of the species. It is common in coastal regions with small offshore islands, but there are few records of sizable flocks. The largest concentration concerns a count of 9,190 individuals roosting on Ursula Island in the Philippines on 5th May 1987 (Hornskov 1995). Large numbers occur on islands between Sumatra and Kalimantan including Bangka-Belitung and the Riau archipelago: 5,000 individuals were counted in February 2014 at a communal roost on Belitung Island (Iqbal 2016). While the species is patchily distributed, the population is believed to be large given the wide range and frequency of records.
Trend justification
The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and unsustainable levels of exploitation, though the majority of the population is not thought to be affected.
Occurs from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam throughout Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines and Indonesia as far east as the coastal margins of the Bird's Head Peninsula and the Kai Islands. Usually found on small islands: movements are poorly known but noted to travel to relatively distant inland forested sites to feed before returning offshore to roost.
Nests and roosts communally on rocky islets or cliffs near the sea, but in other parts of the range nests in mangroves and may use other trees elsewhere. Travels long-distances from offshore roosts in some areas to forage in forest or plantations inland.
Excessive hunting is believed to be responsible for the patchy distribution and rarity of the species on Java and Bali and in parts of the Philippines (Baptista et al. 2020).
Text account compilers
Martin, R., Fernando, E.
Contributors
Dutson, G., Ekstrom, J., O'Brien, M. & Symes, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Pied Imperial-pigeon Ducula bicolor. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/pied-imperial-pigeon-ducula-bicolor on 20/12/2024.
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 20/12/2024.