Christmas Imperial Pigeon (Ducula whartoni)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Christmas Imperial Pigeon

Ducula whartoni (Sharpe, 1887)

571 gWeight

Busiest months: November–December · Most records: Christmas Island

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: November–December · Most records: Christmas Island

Christmas Imperial Pigeon has been recorded at 10 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. SettlementChristmas Island133 records
  2. Christmas Island National ParkChristmas Island113 records
  3. Territory Day Park and LookoutChristmas Island85 records
More places
  1. The DalesChristmas Island68 records
  2. Christmas Island Refuse SiteChristmas Island62 records
  3. Margaret Knoll LookoutChristmas Island52 records
  4. VQ3 LodgeChristmas Island43 records
  5. Christmas Island Golf CourseChristmas Island42 records
  6. Flying Fish CoveChristmas Island40 records
  7. East of Rocky PointChristmas Island28 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Christmas Island

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Christmas imperial pigeon or Christmas Island imperial pigeon (Ducula whartoni), also known as Black imperial pigeon, Dusky imperial pigeon, Wharton's imperial pigeon, or burong pergam, is a large imperial pigeon endemic to Christmas Island in the northeastern Indian Ocean. It has an overall grey-blue colouration, and juveniles are duller than adults. It makes a soft purring coo sound and a deeper whoo sound comparable to a cow mooing.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Christmas Imperial Pigeon?

The Christmas Imperial Pigeon weighs around 571 g.

Where does the Christmas Imperial Pigeon live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Christmas Island (south of western Java). It is most often recorded in Christmas Island.

When is the best time to see the Christmas Imperial Pigeon?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November and December (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the Christmas Imperial Pigeon endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Christmas Imperial Pigeon as Least Concern.

What does the Christmas Imperial Pigeon eat?

Main food: Fruit.

What family is the Christmas Imperial Pigeon in?

It belongs to the family Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae), order Columbiformes.

At a glance

Weight
571 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Fruit
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
251 mm
Tail
171 mm
Bill
28 mm
Tarsus
35 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: Christmas Island (south of western Java)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Pigeons, Doves Columbidae
Genus
Ducula

Other birds in the genus Ducula

Pink-bellied Imperial PigeonPink-bellied Imperial PigeonDucula poliocephalaWhite-bellied Imperial PigeonWhite-bellied Imperial PigeonDucula forsteniMindoro Imperial PigeonMindoro Imperial PigeonDucula mindorensisGrey-headed Imperial PigeonGrey-headed Imperial PigeonDucula radiataSpotted Imperial PigeonSpotted Imperial PigeonDucula carolaGreen Imperial PigeonGreen Imperial PigeonDucula aeneaEnggano Imperial PigeonEnggano Imperial PigeonDucula oenothoraxNicobar Imperial PigeonNicobar Imperial PigeonDucula nicobaricaSpectacled Imperial PigeonSpectacled Imperial PigeonDucula perspicillataSeram Imperial PigeonSeram Imperial PigeonDucula neglectaElegant Imperial PigeonElegant Imperial PigeonDucula concinnaPacific Imperial PigeonPacific Imperial PigeonDucula pacifica
Christmas Imperial Pigeon

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Hickson Fergusson. ↗

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