Pink pigeon and Pequannock: Difference between pages

Revision as of 20:33, 12 October 2005

Revision as of 00:16, 25 November 2005

Line 1:

{{mergeto|Pequannock Township, New Jersey}}

{{Taxobox begin | color = pink | name = Pink Pigeon}}<br/>{{StatusEndangered}}

<!-- {{Taxobox image | image = | caption = }} -->

{{Taxobox begin placement | color = pink}}

{{Taxobox regnum entry | taxon = [[Animal]]ia}}

{{Taxobox phylum entry | taxon = [[Chordate|Chordata]]}}

{{Taxobox classis entry | taxon = [[bird|Aves]]}}

{{Taxobox ordo entry | taxon = [[ Columbiformes]]}}

{{Taxobox familia entry | taxon = [[Columbidae]]}}

{{Taxobox genus entry | taxon = '' [[Streptopelia]]''}}

{{Taxobox species entry | taxon = '''''S. mayeri'''''}}

{{Taxobox end placement}}

{{Taxobox section binomial | color = pink | binomial_name = Columba mayeri | author = [[Prevost]] | date = 1843}}

{{Taxobox section binomial | color = pink | binomial_name = Nesoenas mayeri | author = [[Tommaso Salvadori|Salvadori]] | date = 1893}}

{{Taxobox section binomial | color = pink | binomial_name = Streptopelia mayeri | author = Johnson et al | date = 2001}}

{{Taxobox end}}

'''Pequannock''' is a small [[suburban]] township located in [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris County]] northern [[New Jersey]]. It is primarily a bedroom community to nearby [[New York City]] and home to roughly 4,661 residents. What the town lacks in entertainment or commerce it makes up for in historical significance.

The Pink Pigeon is a species of [[Columbidae]] (doves and pigeons) endemic to [[Mauritius]], and now very rare. It has been conserved through the efforts of [[Gerald Durrell]] and the [[Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust]] in the [[1960s]]. The book ''Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons'' by [[Gerald Durrell]] refers to the conservation efforts. The [[IUCN]] has recently downlisted the species from ''critically endangered'' to ''endangered''. [[Mauritius]] has brought out a series of stamps depicting the endemic Pink Pigeon.

== Linguistic Significance ==

==Description==

An adult pigeon is about 32 [[cm]] from beak to tail and 350 [[gram]] in weight. Pink pigeons have pale pink plumage on their head, shoulders and underside, along with pink feet and beak. They have dark brown wings, and a broad, reddish-brown tail. They have dark brown eyes surrounded by a ring of red skin.

Pequannock is thought to have been derived from the Lenni Lenape "Paquettahhnuake", meaning, "cleared land ready or being readied for cultivation". Pompton has been cited by some sources to mean "a place where they catch soft fish".

Newly hatched pigeons have sparse, downy-white feathers and closed eyes.

== Historic Pequannock ==

==Phylogeny==

Incorporated in [[1740]] as one of the largest townships in the region, this 6.96 square mile bedroom community composed of [[Pompton Plains]] in its northern portion and old Pequannock in its southern was once a vast 176 square mile region of [[rural]] [[farmland]] settled by the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] after its purchase by [[Arent Schuyler]] and associates in the late [[1690]]'s.

Initially classified as a true pigeon, it was re-classified in a monophyletic genus by itself by[[Tommaso Salvadori]]. Recent DNA analyses suggests its nearest neighbour on the phylogenetic tree is the geographically close [[Madagascar Turtle Dove]](''Streptopelia picturata''), and has thus been placed in the [[Streptopelia]] genus, which mostly contains turtle doves.

During the [[Revolutionary War]], [[George Washington]]'s troops camped on what is now the site of the Pequannock Valley Middle School. Washington himself of course made sure to get a room in the nearby Mandeville Inn.

==Range==

During the Civil War, Pequannock was a stop on the underground railroad. The Giles Mandeville House, a field and quarrystone structure located at 515 Turnpike, which served as a waypoint for many runaway slaves, still stands today in use as the Manse of the adjacent First Reformed Church since 1953.

It is only found in the [[Mascarene]] island of [[Mauritius]], having become extinct in the neighbouring larger [[Reunion Island]]. It is also found in the tiny [[Isle Aux Aigrettes]] to the South-East.

Inside [[Mauritius]], it is found in patches in the Southwest.

== Other Pequannock Information ==

==Habitat==

People in Pequannock do lots of hardxcore drugs and get trashed nearly every night. Hooray Beer!

It prefers upland evergreen forests. Destruction of these forests have been a major reason for its decline.

Pequannock people are usually white. Notar needs to leave town.

== Current statistics==

==Habit==

*Population ([[2000]] Census): 4,661

====Feeding Habits====

*Housing Units: 1,675

It feeds on native plants - by consuming buds, flowers, leaves, shoots, fruits and seeds. Non-native species like [[Guava]] pose a threat to it by preventing growth of native trees. It does supplement its diet at feeding stations manned by conservation officials.

*Land Area: 1.67 square miles

*Water Area: 0.07 square miles

*Zip Codes: 07440, 07444

*Area Code: (973)

*County: Morris

*State: New Jersey

[http://www.hometownlocator.com/ZCTA.cfm?ZIPCode=07440 2000 Census Info]

== External links ==

====Social Habits====

They feed and roost in small flocks.

*[http://www.pequannocktownship.org/ Pequannock Township Official Website]

====Breeding Habits====

*[http://www.pequannock.org/ Pequannock School District]

The breeding season starts in August-September. The male courts the female with a "step and bow" display. Mating is monogamous, with the pair making a flimsy platform nest and defending a small area around it (even though the pigeons initially had no natural predators). The female usually lays 2 white eggs, and incubation duration is 2 weeks. The male incubates during the day, and the female during night and early day.

*[http://www.hometownlocator.com/ZCTA.cfm?ZIPCode=07440 2000 Census Information]

*[http://www.pequannocklacrosse.org/ Pequannock Lacrosse Club]

Males remain fertile till 17 - 18 years of age, females till 10 - 11 years of age.

*[http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/njpequa.htm Revolutionary Petition of Patriots (May 1776)]

====Rearing Young====

1 - 7 days: Chicks eyes closed, fed entirely on ''[[crop milk]]''.

7 - 10 days: Chicks undergo a dietary transformation to solid food.

2 - 4 weeks: Chicks fledge, but are parent-fed.

4 - 6/7 weeks: Chicks remain in the nest. After this the chicks leave the nest.

==Demography and Longevity==

Due to habitat destruction, and non-native predators, the population had dropped to 10 in [[1991]]. The captive breeding and reintroduction program by the [[Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust]] has caused a stable population of about 350 in the wild in [[2001]], as well as a healthy captive population as backup. There are more males than females in a population due to greater life expectancy of the male (about 5 years more). The average life expectancy upper bound is estimated at 17 - 18 years.

==References==

*The Mauritius Pink Pigeon Report, Durrell Wildife Conservation Trust, 2001.

*A molecular phylogeny of the dove genera Streptopelia and Columba; Auk 118, 4 (2001): 874-887