The cinnamon-bellied imperial pigeon or cinnamon imperial pigeon (Ducula basilica) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the northern Moluccas. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
| Cinnamon-bellied imperial pigeon | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Ducula |
| Species: | D. basilica |
| Binomial name | |
| Ducula basilica Bonaparte, 1854 | |
The cinnamon-bellied imperial pigeon was formally described in 1854 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte from a specimen collected in Gilolo now Halmahera, the largest island in the Maluku Islands. He coined the current binomial name Ducula basilica.[2] The specific epithet basilica is Latin for "magnificent" or "splendid".[3] The cinnamon-bellied imperial pigeon was at one time considered as a subspecies of the purple-tailed imperial pigeon (Ducula rufigaster).[4]
Two subspecies are recognised:[5]
- D. b. basilica Bonaparte, 1854 – north Maluku Islands
- D. b. obiensis (Hartert, 1898) – Obi Islands (central Maluku Islands)
Some ornithologists treat D. b. obiensis as a separate species, the rusty imperial pigeon (Ducula obiensis).[6]