Hemiphaga is a genus of large pigeons from New Zealand and Norfolk Island. There are two species, one of which is divided into two subspecies.
Hemiphaga novaseelandiae consists of the kererū or New Zealand pigeon (H. n. novaseelandiae) of the main New Zealand archipelago, and the Norfolk pigeon (H. n. spadicea) of Norfolk Island (a territory of Australia), which became extinct in the early 20th century. The subspecies differed in their plumage colour and shape.James, R. E. (1995). "Breeding ecology of the New Zealand pigeon at Wenderholm Regional Park". p. 93. School of Environmental and Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland.
The other species is the Chatham Islands pigeon (Hemiphaga chathamensis) of the Chatham Islands, 650 km from the main New Zealand archipelago. Previously considered a subspecies (H. n. chathamensis) of the kererū, it was proposed in 2001 that it was distinct enough to be raised to full species status,Millener, P. R.; Powlesland, R. G. (2001). "The Chatham Island pigeon (Parea) deserves full species status; Hemiphaga chathamensis (Rothschild 1891); Aves: Columbidae". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 31: 365–383. and this has been accepted by most authorities.
Taxonomy The genus Hemiphaga was introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae as the type species. The name combines the Ancient Greek hēmi meaning "half" with the end of the genus name Carpophaga, "fruit eating", introduced by Prideaux John Selby in 1835, as Bonaparte considered the genus to be related both to Carpophaga and to Megaloprepia.
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