Thick-billed Ground Dove

Pampusana salamonis (Ramsay, EP, 1882)

Thick-billed Ground Dove, Pampusana salamonis, lived on Makira and Ramos in the Solomon Islands and was an extinct member of the Columbidae. It is known from only two specimens, collected in 1882 and 1927. The bird was about 26 cm long. Its head, throat and breast mantle were beige, while the upperparts were chestnut with a pale purple sheen on the carpals and small wing coverts, and the belly was chocolate-coloured. It was a ground-dweller, and dry beach forest was probably its habitat. Hunting, logging and introduced predators contributed to its loss.

Order

Columbiformes

Family

Columbidae — Pigeons, Doves

Breeding range

Australasia: Makira and Ramos (n of Isabel; se Solomon Is.)