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| Laurel Pigeon |
Of the remaining non-passerines to be covered, the most
important are the pigeons. Six species breed on the islands, of which two are
endemic. We managed to see the two endemic pigeons, Laurel Pigeon Columba
junoniae and Bolle’s Pigeon C.bolii, on La Gomera, after some searching in the
laurasilva forest.
Eurasian Collared Dove is a recent colonist of the islands (along
with much of the rest of the world including North America), but we missed out
on an even more recent colonist on Fuerteventura, the African Laughing Dove
Streptopelia senegalensis. Laughing Doves have bred for some years, but the
population is still very small and appears to be fading away instead of
becoming established. The other two breeding pigeons are the feral pigeon
C.livia, and the European Turtle Dove S.turtur.
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| Bolle's Pigeon |
The two endemic pigeons both seem to derive from separate colonisations
of the islands by the very widespread European Wood Pigeon C.palumbus. They
both feed on fruits of various laurasilva trees such as Azores Laurel Laurus
azoricus and Small-Leaved Holly Ilex canariensis. In addition leaves and seeds
of other plants make up the diet, which may also include terrestrial crops on
occasion.
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| Small-Leaved Holly |
The main ecological separation between Bolle’s and Laurel pigeons is
in their nesting behaviour – Laurel Pigeons nest on the ground on rocky areas
while Bolle’s Pigeons are tree nesters. Ground nesting is unusual in pigeons
and probably reflects that the Laurel pigeons’ ancestors colonised the islands
much earlier, before the arrival of any terrestrial (and especially mammalian)
predators. They also nest at different
times of the year – the breeding season for both is extended but the Laurel
Pigeon nests mainly April – July whereas Bolles Pigeon nests earlier in the
year. Populations of both are actually increasing following heavy losses but
are still very small – Laurel Pigeon has been assessed at around 5,000 adults
on the various islands and is Near Threatened, whereas Bolle’s Pigeon is
commoner at possibly up to 20,000 individuals and is classed as Least Concern.
Main ongoing threats are habitat destruction and alteration, some illegal
shooting, and nest losses from predators, especially Black Rat.
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| Habitat of Laurel and Bolle's Pigeons |
They are actually very hard to see, especially
in fog-shrouded forest – they tend to sit quietly in trees and then shoot
quickly across to the other side of a valley where they disappear into the
trees. The best way to see them is to wait at a good point overlooking suitable
habitat and wait for them to fly across the valley. This time we got good views
of both species in flight and even a perched Laurel Pigeon, although it was too
far away to photograph.
Very similar in flight to pigeons are the sandgrouse. We had
views on two days of Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis in flight.
On the ground they are practically invisible unless you see them land, but in
flight they are very fast and direct flyers.
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| Pallid Swift |
Also seen, in flight naturally, were two species of swift.
Pallid Swift Apus pallidus is fairly widespread on the mainland, but Plain
Swift A.unicolor is a near-endemic to Macaronesia (a few were recently
discovered breeding in Morocco). Given the name, and the fact that both Pallid
Swift and Common Swift Apus apus also breed on the islands, identification is
quite a problem, but we were too early in the year for Common Swift and Pallid
Swifts have a distinctive white throat. Plain Swifts are partial residents –
the numbers decrease over winter and presumably winter somewhere in Africa, but
some remain year round. The others are summer migrants. Plain Swifts are
classed as Least Concern by the IUCN. They breed at higher elevations than the
other species and nest on the walls of ravines, sometimes in loose colonies.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker (UK) |
We got good views at a picnic site on Tenerife of the local
race of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopus major canariensis. These are very
similar to the nominate race which occurs in the UK, and are probably one of
the most significant native nest predators of the smaller woodland birds.
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| Monk Parakeet at nest |
Not native to the islands, but looking to become part of the
native fauna, are two parrot species. The Rose-Ringed Parakeet Psittacula
krameri and the Monk Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus both breed around a
now-defunct zoo on Fuerteventura and we saw both species easily. The Monk
Parakeets were sharing their nest site in the top of a palm tree with a pair of
Sacred Ibis (also a feral breeding species). Monk Parakeets are unusual for
parrots in that they construct elaborate nests instead of simply using holes in
trees.
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| Hoopoe |
Finally, one of the most vivid birds to be seen in Europe
was seen several times by the path behind our hotel on Fuerteventura. The
Hoopoe Upupa epops is a bird that often feeds on the ground around olive groves and
orchards, and has figured in European and Middle Eastern folklore from earliest
times.
(hoopoe image is mine, rest from Wikipedia)
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