This Puzzling Dove Is Endangered And More Evolutionarily Distinct Than The Dodo
For a long time, nobody has really known how the Cuban blue-headed quail dove arrived on the island. But now, scientists have finally sequenced DNA from the bird to determine its origins and relatives. Instead of finding answers, the bird has become even more mysterious than before.
Blue-headed quail doves have drab, brown feathers and a slender beak. They also strut when they walk, much like other doves.
They were assumed to be most closely related to doves and pigeons in Central and South America. However, some biologists have noticed that they have features that resemble the doves and pigeons of Australasia.
The new study shows that neither of these theories are accurate. Blue-headed quail doves are not closely related to species in Australia or America.
They are more evolutionarily distinct than the now-extinct dodo, which was also a type of dove. The dodo only had one known close relative, the Rodrigues solitaire, which is extinct as well.
“[The blue-headed quail dove] has been an ornithological enigma for a very long time,” said Jessica Oswald, the lead author of the study.
“We focused on this dove species because we were anticipating an odd result that might help us understand the complex biogeography of the Caribbean. We did not anticipate it being so unique from an evolutionary perspective relative to anything else.”
It’s unclear exactly how old the dove family is, but a DNA analysis suggests that the blue-headed quail dove may have originated as far back as 50 million years ago.
The research was part of a broader initiative to pinpoint the causes of bird extinction in the Caribbean over the last several thousand years.
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Since the arrival of humans on the islands, an estimated 12 percent of all Caribbean birds have gone extinct, including a giant owl that stood nearly four feet tall, more than a dozen parrots, a raptor 30 percent larger than bald eagles, a flightless ibis that used its wings as weapons, and a condor with a muscular jaw.
Ancient DNA was extracted and sequenced from Caribbean bird fossils to discover their closest relatives. The technique was also applied to a toe pad from a blue-headed quail dove specimen collected in 1958.
The results revealed that there were other doves from the Caribbean, including an extinct species that was a staple of Indigenous diets.
All other doves flew there from North, Central, or South America. The blue-headed quail dove could have come from anywhere.
It spends most of its time on the ground, although its ancestors probably were capable of flying far and wide. The bird is not quite extinct yet, but it may be getting to that point.
“There are 1,000 mature individuals of this species left in Cuba. It is threatened by overhunting by people, habitat loss, and invasive species like cats. It’s very much on the brink,” said Oswald.
The study was published in the journal Biology Letters.
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