The tooth-billed pigeon, also called a manumea, is a very special bird. The nickname for this bird is the “little Dodo” because it is the closest living relative to the extinct Dodo bird. Looking at the manumea, it is easy to see the resemblance. It is unlike any common pigeon that one might find in the city.
The manumea is endangered, and many people are worried that it will follow the path of its relative, the Dodo bird, to extinction. The bird is endangered due to hunting and shrinking of its habitat. For years, it was part of the local culture to have a huge annual hunt for the birds. This hunt is now illegal, but in the past, it resulted in thousands of birds dying. Several reasons explain the loss of habitat. Forests have been demolished to make way for farmland and other developments, and the powerful cyclones that hit the island often destroy forest. Hope for survival still exists for the manumea, though. Many people are working to protect their forests and support the species.
Tooth-billed Pigeon
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Didunculus
Species: D. strigirostris
Here are some facts about the tooth-billed pigeon
• It only lives on the Samoan islands of Upolu and Savai’i.
• It is the national bird of Samoa.
• It is endangered; some estimate only 250 of the birds are left.
• Its natural habitat is in forests and along the forest edge.
• The bird is incredibly secretive, so it is often difficult to count the population.
• It has a large hooked bill with two “teeth” on the lower jaw, which is unique among pigeons.
• The bill is red and yellow towards the tip.
• It has a thick body (some call it chunky) and red rings around its eyes.
• The average bird is 31 cm long.
• Its legs and feet are also red.
• The body of the birds is a blackish-brown and the wings a lighter chestnut color.
• It mostly eats the fruits of the Dysoxylum tree, though it does eat some other seeds.
• They usually lay two eggs at a time.
