Hemiphaga

Hemiphaga is the genus containing two species of large pigeons from New Zealand.

There are two subspecies of New Zealand pigeon, Hemiphaga novaseelandiae: H. n. novaseelandiae of mainland New Zealand and the Norfolk pigeon (H. n. spadicea) of Norfolk Island, now extinct. The subspecies differed in their plumage colour and shape.<ref name ="James95">James, R. E. (1995). Breeding ecology of the New Zealand pigeon at Wenderholm Regional Park. p93. School of Environmental and Marine Science. University of Auckland, Auckland.</ref>

In 2001, it was proposed that a third subspecies, H. n. chathamensis or the Chatham Island pigeon, was distinct enough to be raised to full species status as H. chathamensis.<ref>Millener, P. R., and R. G. Powlesland. (2001). The Chatham Island pigeon (Chatham pigeon) deserves full species status; Hemiphaga chathamensis (Rothschild 1891); Aves: Columbidae. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 31:365–383.</ref> This has since been accepted by most authorities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Taxonomy

The genus Hemiphaga was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with the New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) as the type species.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The name combines the Ancient Greek hēmi meaning "half-" or "small" with the end of the genus name Carpophaga introduced by Prideaux John Selby in 1835.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The genus contains two species:<ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>