Caloenas

Caloenas
Adult Nicobar pigeon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Caloenas
G.R. Gray, 1840

Caloenas is a genus of pigeons. The only living species is the Nicobar pigeon (C. nicobarica).

One or two extinct species are known: the Kanaka pigeon was a large species from New Caledonia and Tonga. It is only known by subfossil remains and was probably hunted to extinction by the early settlers. The spotted green pigeon, another extinct species from an unknown locality, has only a slight similarity to the Nicobar pigeon due to its neck feathers. Ornithologists place it in this genus, but there is not a unanimous agreement. One surviving specimen exists in the Liverpool Museum.