[4] The Nuku Hiva imperial pigeon is sooty-gray on the head, throat and breast, with a white band just behind the bill that can be seen from some distance.

A few on the island may still turn in sea-level forested groves and woods surrounded banana and orange plantations.

[4] The Nuku Hiva imperial pigeon is normally seen singly or in pairs, often while perched around a fruiting tree.

Favored foods including Mangifera indica (a mango), Psidium guajava (a guava) and numerous smaller fruit of the genera Ficus, Cordia and Eugenia.

It flies to new foraging sites over forested ridges with deep, labored wing beats.

[4] Formerly (1996–2004 quadrennial reports) classified by the IUCN as a critically endangered species with an estimated population of less than 150 adult birds,[1] it was suspected to be more numerous than generally assumed.

Following an evaluation of its population status, completed in 2008, found an estimated 150 to 300 birds in total on the island, it was downlisted to endangered; the 2008 IUCN report noted that it was still an exceedingly rare bird, but successful conservation measures had averted the threat of immediate extinction.