Fruit dove

Fruit dove

Fruit dove

Common name: Fruit dove, Fruit pigeon, Rose-fronted Pigeon, Crimson-capped Fruit Dove.

Family: Dove family (Columbidae).

Scientific Name: Ptilinopus.

Species: It is a large genus with about 50 species, some threatened or already extinct!

Distribution: This beautiful species of dove is found in the island of New Guinea, Philippines, and biogeographical region of Wallacea. Some species have ranges as far west as the Sunda Islands, others north to Taiwan, south to Australia, and east into Polynesia.

Description: It is a small, approximately 19 cm (7½ in) long, mainly green fruit dove. It has a red crown, whitish throat, a greenish-yellow bill and purplish-red feet. It has a blue-grey breast and yellowish orange belly, with a reddish purple patch in between.  Males and females of many fruit dove species look very different. For example, the female many-coloured fruit dove shares the male’s crimson crown and deep pink undertail feathers, but is otherwise green, whereas the male has a crimson on the upper back and has areas of yellow, olive, cinnamon, and grey.

Diet: Its diet consists mainly of various fruits from trees, palms and vines.

Threats: Habitat loss and predation by the Brown tree snake and over hunting.