biology

Red-moustached fruit dove

Red-moustached fruit dove is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Red-moustached fruit dove rather than just read about it. In short: The red-moustached fruit dove or moustached fruit dove (Ptilinopus mercierii) is an extinct species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was endemic to French Polynesia.

Key takeaways

Red-moustached fruit dove belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Red-moustached fruit dove to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Red-moustached fruit dove from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The red-moustached fruit dove or moustached fruit dove (Ptilinopus mercierii) is an extinct species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was endemic to French Polynesia. The last record was of the subspecies P. m. tristrami on Hiva Oa, in 1922. Its extinction has been attributed to predation by the introduced great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), as well as by introduced rats and cats. In 1994, it was listed as an extinct species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species.

Description The red-moustached fruit dove measured 21 to 23 cm (8.3 to 9.1 in) in length. The head, breast, and neck were bluish grey, and the tail was short, almost square shaped. The underpart plumage was golden yellow in colour. The juvenile had less yellow on the hind neck and crown. The breast was green-tinged and had light yellowish on the peripheries of the feathers. The undertail coverts were yellow-white. It was similar in appearance with the white-capped fruit dove (Ptilinopus dupetithouarsii).

Distribution and habitat The red-moustached fruit dove was endemic to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The nominate subspecies was found on the Nuku Hiva Island, and the subspecies P. m. tristrami was found on the Hiva Oa Island. Described as arboreal, the red-moustached fruit dove inhabited montane forests, usually higher in altitude than the white-capped fruit dove, at elevations of at least 1,370 metres (4,490 ft) above sea level.

Status and conservation In 1988, the red-moustached fruit dove was listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. However, in 1994, it was reassessed to be extinct. The reason of its extinction was attributed to the predation by the introduced rats, cats, and the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus). Its last record was in 1922, in the French Polynesian island Hiva Oa, of a subspecies P. m. tristrami.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Red-moustached fruit dove

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Red-moustached fruit dove claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Red-moustached fruit dove before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Red-moustached fruit dove ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Red-moustached fruit dove

In research: Red-moustached fruit dove appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Red-moustached fruit dove in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Red-moustached fruit dove is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird extinctions since 1500, Birds described in 1849, Birds of the Marquesas Islands, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Red-moustached fruit dove outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Red-moustached fruit dove in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Red-moustached fruit dove means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Red-moustached fruit dove out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Red-moustached fruit dove in simple terms?

The red-moustached fruit dove or moustached fruit dove (Ptilinopus mercierii) is an extinct species of bird in the family Columbidae. It was endemic to French Polynesia.

Why does Red-moustached fruit dove matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Red-moustached fruit dove?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Red-moustached fruit dove.