Pink-necked Green Pigeon
by T.G. Goh
This bird is everywhere on campus, but nobody ever sees it. The Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Trevon vernans) flies short distances between trees, only visible for a short moment before it disappears back into the green leaves. Its agile feet allow it to walk along the branches as it looks for fruit, nuts and seeds. These birds almost never set foot on ground, and consequently most people are not aware of their existence. With a length of about 30 cm, the birds are a bit smaller than regular pigeons. They also differ by having mostly green plumage and grey blue accents. The females and males have different colours, with the males being more colourful and often with a pinkish patch on their chests while the females tend to be a more uniform green. They give off a very soft screeching sound that doesn't sound anything like the familiar 'coo' sound of of pigeons. Common habitats for these birds are in the trees that line Tasek Varsiti and the UM Library. Like typical pigeons they can often be seen moving in pairs, but groups of 10-15 can be spotted when they congregate to feed on fruiting trees. They particularly favour fig trees, and will appear in large numbers when fig trees start fruiting. This is the only time where it is convenient to view and photograph them without specialised equipment. While they are reportedly becoming rarer in villages due to people hunting them to eat, at the present moment these birds' conservation status is considered to be of "Least Concern". However there have been recent reports of this species becoming more common in suburban areas such as the UM Campus.
T.G. Goh is an entomologist based in the Museum of Zoology. He can frequently be seen walking around campus, ruminating on the state of biodiversity; it is from his shortcuts through untarred territories that he gets the inspiration for his columns. You can contact him at u_loji@yahoo.com.
