Goura victoria (Fraser, 1844)

Bishop, K. David, 2023, The avifauna of Biak Island, Papua, Indonesia with comments on status, conservation, natural history and taxonomy, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 143 (1), pp. 3-62 : 18

VICTORIA CROWNED PIGEON Goura victoria # Near Threatened

Local names Man Bruk (Sansundi), Mam Mbruk ( Soeparno 1977); Mambruk is the Indonesian name of the genus.

Range G. v. victoria Biak, Supiori and Yapen.

Taxonomy Del Hoyo & Collar (2014) noted that insular nominate victoria is markedly smaller than mainland New Guinea beccarii but other differences are not apparent; however, studies of behaviour and vocalisations may establish further points of divergence.

Status Teluk Cenderawasih endemic subspecies. All previous authors have regarded the Biak/Supiori birds as introduced, being the only population of this spectacular genus away from mainland New Guinea or one of its land-bridge islands, thus the evidence appears weighted in favour of it having been introduced historically. Nevertheless, in 1844 a live bird, obtained on Biak by an early visitor to New Guinea, was kept in London Zoo ( Mayr & Meyer de Schauensee 1939), so the species has been present on Biak for at least 176 years. Local informants told von Rosenberg (1875) that the pigeon was very common on the island around 1869/70, however, in 1915 Feuilletau de Bruyn (1941) mentioned seeing some hunting by bow and arrow in addition to frequent snaring. July 1982: KDB observed three in four days from near sea level to c. 305 m in tall, unlogged lowland and hill forest on limestone karst on the south slope of Supiori. KDB and his guide regularly found shed flight feathers in undisturbed forest along small creeks, where this species apparently likes to forage and drink. People at Kuneff stated that the species also inhabits mangrove. Despite noting a lack of guns in July 1982 the species was nevertheless shy, flying off immediately it detected the observers. During interviews on Biak, local people informed KDB that they considered it relatively plentiful in forests of the north. Nevertheless, even then ‘Mambruk’ were considered very shy and required a good day’s walk to find. The only other record on Supiori is that of Gibbs (1993) who flushed one near Kuneff. In January 1997 SvB noted a single and later two quite approachable birds along a road in forest near Sansundi. Despite that Biak has been relatively regularly visited by birders, since the late 1990s there have been no further records, which suggests that it may now be largely extirpated there, especially in the south. The bridge that now links Biak and Supiori and the roads that extend a considerable distance along the north coast of Supiori, in addition to its east and south coasts, will inevitably have a negative impact on this highly sought-after species. In 1982 and probably until c.2000 very few indigenous people appeared to own guns or even air rifles on Biak and Supiori, and most hunting was conducted using snares (KDB). However, security forces possessed guns and almost certainly hunted this and other species regularly, albeit possibly only in a narrow radius of their base. However, the recent large increase in the human population of Biak, the opening of roads especially on Supiori and proliferation of high-powered air-rifles throughout Indonesian New Guinea (KDB) almost certainly spells doom for any Victoria Crowned Pigeon within easy reach of a road and/or village. Clearly the status of the species on Biak/Supiori requires investigation.