Pink-bellied Imperial-Pigeon [HD]

This is one of the uncommon endemic pigeons of the Philippines: a Pink-bellied Imperial Pigeon videoscoped by our lead guide Nicky Icarangal in a birding trip with Singaporean birders (check out a portion of their trip report here) in Mt. Kanlaon, Negros Island, Central Philippines. It is a big pigeon, measuring up to about 17 inches and is the only pigeon in the Philippines with a green breast and a pink belly. The female Black-chinned Fruit-dove also has a green breast but it is much smaller and the belly is dark green as well. It prefers fruits and will feed singly or with other pigeons or hornbills in feeding trees. It can be found in good intact forests from the lowlands up to 1500 meters in most of the Philippine islands except Palawan. Unfortunately, due to its large size is has become an easy target for hunters and has become particularly rare in Luzon. Pink-bellied Imperial Pigeon, Ducula poliocephala April 2011, Mt. Kanlaon National Park, Negros Occidental, Philippines by Nicky Icarangal using a Swarovski 80mm ATM HD, 25-50x eyepiece, Swarovski Universal Camera Adapter, Canon Powershot S95