AN OBSCURE, mysterious bird which earned the name the Liverpool Pigeon has gone on display – just one week after it was declared extinct.
The Spotted Green Pigeon (Caloenas maculate) has been affectionately named after the city where it has been stored for the past century.
One of only two examples ever recorded, the pigeon has been brought up from the basement of World Museum Liverpool to go on proud display in the natural history centre.
The other specimen has been lost for hundreds of years, leaving the Liverpool Pigeon as the only original description specimen.
Standing 32 cm high with a rounded-wing length of 175mm, the pigeon has already attracted interest from pigeon experts from Cambridge and Manchester, and the head of Birdlife International. It was this global conservation partnership which officially added the bird to its extinct list only last week.
The Liverpool Pigeon is thought to have been collected between 1783-1823 and belonged to ornithologist General Davies.
The 13th Earl of Derby then bought the pigeon from Davies and it remained in his collection at Knowsley Hall until his death, when Liverpool Museum acquired the specimen.
Clem Fischer, curator of vertebrate zoology at the museum, said: “There was a lot of interest once the pigeon was classified as extinct last week, so we wanted to put it out on display once again.”
Experts believe the bird is likely to have been collected by Sir Joseph Banks, who travelled around the Pacific with Captain Cook.
