Trocaz Pigeon - Status

Status

The Trocaz Pigeon formerly bred on both the main island of Madeira and nearby Porto Santo Island. It was very abundant when the islands were first colonised by humans, but was extirpated on Porto Santo, and by 1986 had declined to about 2,700 birds. Hunting was banned in that year, and there are now between 7,500 and 10,000 individuals in approximately 160 km2 (60 mi2) of suitable habitat. The losses on the two islands, the only inhabited ones in the archipelago, were largely due to deforestation for wood and to create agricultural and grazing land.

The exclusion of livestock from the native forest allows it to regenerate and create more suitable habitat. Some illegal hunting and poisoning continues because of the damage this pigeon can do to crops, and the government allowed a cull in 2004. Perhaps the main limiting factor on the rate at which the pigeon increases its numbers is eggs and young being taken by introduced Black Rats. The Parque Natural da Madeira national park has a management plan for the Trocaz Pigeon, and it is hoped that an education campaign and the promotion of bird scarers may reduce persecution. Its increasing population means that it is now classed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, an improvement on its Threatened status in 1988. This species is protected under the European Union Birds Directive, and the laurel forests under the Habitats Directive.