Curio

State Library of New South Wales
‘Pigeon of Lord Howe Island’ or White-throated pigeon (Columba vitiensis godmanae), 1790

‘Pigeon of Lord Howe Island’ or White-throated pigeon (Columba vitiensis godmanae), 1790

Raper Collection, courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London; Presented by Eva Godman, 1962; Raper drawing – no. 72

Watercolour

The Lord Howe pigeon (extinct) was mostly brown, with a purple head and breast, and a white patch on its throat.
The Lord Howe pigeon (extinct) was found in closed forest areas and it is likely that the species fed upon fruits and seeds.
The Lord Howe pigeon was driven to extinction in the mid-19th century. Hunting by humans is believed to be the likely cause of extinction.
The White-throated pigeon (extinct) measured around 40 centimetres long.
The White-throated pigeon (extinct) was recorded as existing only on Lord Howe Island.
The Lord Howe pigeon also called the White-throated pigeon existed on Lord Howe Island and became extinct in the 1850s.