Tooth-billed Pigeon
Didunculus strigirostris
The Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris) is a legendary doves and pigeon found only in Samoa, weighing about 400 g. The tooth-billed pigeon, also known as the manumea, is a large pigeon found only in Samoa.
About the Tooth-billed Pigeon
The tooth-billed pigeon, also known as the manumea, is a large pigeon found only in Samoa. It is the only living species of genus Didunculus. A related extinct species, the Tongan tooth-billed pigeon, is only known from subfossil remains in several archeological sites in Tonga. The tooth-billed pigeon is the national bird of Samoa and featured on the 20 tālā bills and the 50 sene pieces of the 2008/2011 series. Native only to Samoa's primary rainforest, it is considered to be endangered, with only a few hundred individuals thought to remain in existence.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The tooth-billed pigeon is a medium-sized, approximately 31 centimetres (12 in) long, dark pigeon with reddish feet and red bare skin around the eye. The underparts, head and neck are greyish with a slight blue-green iridescence, and the tail, wings-coverts and tertials are rufous chestnut, while the remaining remiges are blackish. It has a large, curved, and hooked bright red bill, with tooth-like projections on the lower mandible which let them act as seed dispensers.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, with peak activity in October. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Tooth-billed Pigeon?
- The tooth-billed pigeon is a medium-sized, approximately 31 centimetres (12 in) long, dark pigeon with reddish feet and red bare skin around the eye. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Tooth-billed Pigeon?
- The Tooth-billed Pigeon is a large sized bird weighing about 400 g.
- Where can you see a Tooth-billed Pigeon?
- The Tooth-billed Pigeon is endemic to Samoa, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Tooth-billed Pigeon?
- The Tooth-billed Pigeon is most easily confused with the Kosrae Fruit Dove, the Marquesan Ground Dove and the Tawitawi Brown Dove.
- Is the Tooth-billed Pigeon endangered?
- The Tooth-billed Pigeon is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Tooth-billed Pigeon for real
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