White-bellied Imperial Pigeon

Open encyclopedia reference

The white-bellied imperial pigeon (Ducula forsteni) is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. First described by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854, it is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found on Sulawesi, Buton, Taliabu, Togian, and Peleng. It inhabits primary forest, dense secondary forest, and isolated areas of hill forest. A large pigeon with a long tail, it measures 42.5–51.5 cm (16.7–20.3 in) long and weighs 510 g (18 oz) on average. Males are mainly green, with pale-grey heads and bellies, chestnut vents, and a pale grey tail band, along with a red orbital ring. Females are nearly identical, but have darker grey areas in their plumage.

The white-bellied imperial pigeon feeds on fruit. It is listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List due to its sufficiently large range and lack of significant population decline. However, its population is declining due to habitat destruction.

Wikipedia contributors, White-bellied imperial pigeon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:06:06.021575+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Ducula forsteni (Bonaparte, 1854)

Name authority

(Bonaparte, 1854)

Common name

White-bellied Imperial Pigeon

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Columbiformes

Family

Columbidae

Genus

Ducula

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderColumbiformes
10. familyColumbidae
11. subfamilyRaphinae
12. genusDucula Hodgson, 1836
13. speciesDucula forsteni (Bonaparte, 1854)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Ducula. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 279 records assigned to Columbidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177372 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:37Z9F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.