Beautiful Fruit Dove

ANIMAL:
Beautiful Fruit Dove Ptilinopus pulchellus

Type of Animal:
Pigeon/Dove

Habitat:
Forests

Location(s):
New Guinea & islands of Batanta, Waigeo, Salawati, & Misool in W Papua

Appearance:
Reddish/pink/crimson crown, whitish throat, greenish-yellow bill, purplish-red feet, blue-gray breast, yellowish orange belly, reddish purple patch between belly/breast, very colorful, both sexes look similar but male coloration richer/louder

Food/Diet:
Fruit, berries, vegetables, seeds, worms, insects

Status in Wild:
Stable

Conservation:
Breeding in zoos & wildlife centers

Lifestyle:
Flocks of 2-6 birds

Additional Info:

Called:
Male: Cock
Female: Hen
Young: Squab
Group: Flock
 
Weight:
Male: 2.47 oz
Female: 2.29 oz
Young: 0.28 oz

Gestation:
2.5 weeks

Life Span:
15 years

Height:
7.5 in

Body Length:
7.5 in

Tail Length:
0.4 in

Also called Crimson-Capped Fruit Dove & Rose-Fronted Pigeon.
 
Like most fruit doves, they’re quite shy.
 
Both parents incubate eggs.
 
Due to diet, play important role in seed dispersal.
 
Usually lays a single egg in fragile stick-leaf nest.
 
Sexually mature at 6 months old.
 
Squabs fledge at 8 days old & take 1st flight at 12-14 days.
 
Courtship involves both sexes bowing & cooing but males do more cooing/calling. Male sits on branch next to female, puffs himself up, & stretches to make himself look bigger.
 
Squab stays w/ parents for up to 6 months.
 
Active during the day (diurnal).
 
Sometimes displaced from fruiting trees by larger pigeons like Collared Imperial Pigeons.

Fun Fact(s):
Like many pigeon/dove species, they feed young crop milk. Milk said to contain more fat/protein than cow’s milk.
 
Despite bright colors, it’s often very difficult to see.
 
Wings functional before eyes even open.
 
Like other pigeons/doves but unlike most birds, they can put entire bill into water, drinking by sucking in.

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