NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black Cuckoo-Dove
Turacoena modesta (Temminck, 1835)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Slaty Cuckoo-Dove (Turacoena modesta)
desertnaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The black cuckoo-dove or black dove (Turacoena modesta), also known as the slaty cuckoo dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Lesser Sunda Islands, being found on Timor, Wetar, Rote, and Atauro. It inhabits primary and secondary monsoon forest, eucalyptus forest, and woodlands. It is 38.5 cm (15.2 in) long on average and is mainly dark bluish-gray, lighter on the head and underparts and darker on the wings and tail. It has yellow orbital skin.
The black cuckoo-dove feeds on fruit. It is listed as being near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the IUCN Red List. It is threatened by habitat destruction and hunting.
Wikipedia contributors, Black cuckoo-dove; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:12:17.495681+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Turacoena modesta (Temminck, 1835)
- Name authority
- (Temminck, 1835)
- Common name
- Black Cuckoo-Dove
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Turacoena
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderColumbiformes
- familyColumbidae
- subfamilyColumbinae
- genusTuracoena Bonaparte, 1854
- speciesTuracoena modesta (Temminck, 1835)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Turacoena. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sula Cuckoo-DoveTuracoena sulaensis H. O. Forbes & Robinson, 1900 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177201 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:59MDF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.