Chatham Islands Pigeon

Open encyclopedia reference

The Chatham Islands pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis), also known as the Chatham pigeon or parea, is a bird endemic to the Chatham Islands in New Zealand. Growing to 800 g (28 oz) in weight and 55 cm (22 in) in length, the Chatham Islands pigeon is closely related to the kererū or New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), the only other species in the genus Hemiphaga. While rated vulnerable by IUCN, it is considered critically threatened in New Zealand. Recovering from a low of 40 birds in the 1980s, the Chatham Islands pigeon population is now over 600, and the species is ranked by the IUCN as "Vulnerable", and by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as at 2017 as "Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable". The species is largely restricted to the southern forests of Chatham Island (particularly those around the Tuku River). A few have been seen elsewhere on Chatham Island and also further afield on Pitt and South East Islands.

Wikipedia contributors, Chatham Islands pigeon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:52:05.999056+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hemiphaga chathamensis (Rothschild, 1891)

Name authority

(Rothschild, 1891)

Common name

Chatham Islands Pigeon

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Columbiformes

Family

Columbidae

Genus

Hemiphaga

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. genusHemiphaga Bonaparte, 1854
13. speciesHemiphaga chathamensis (Rothschild, 1891)

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 279 records assigned to Columbidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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=1125263 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.

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:3KRM4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.