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Superb Fruit-dove
Ptilinopus superbus
Conservation Status
Vulnerable species in New South Wales (Threatened Species Conservation Act).
What does it look like?
It is a small pigeon, approximately 24 cm in length. The male is brightly coloured, with golden-green upperparts, a brilliant orange-vermilion neck, and a rich purple crown. The tail is short and tipped with white. The throat and breast are grey with a lilac tinge, and a broad black band on the lower breast separates the grey breast from the creamy-white belly and green flanks. The female is light green on the back, has a small purple spot on the crown, and no dark breast band.
Where does it live?
They occur in rainforests and closed forests mostly in a narrow strip along the east coast of Australia. Mainly north-eastern New South Wales and Queensland, being less common in the south.
What does it eat and what is its life cycle?
Residing in small groups or pairs, they feed high in the canopy of fruiting rainforest trees. Mostly, as the name suggests, they eat the fruits of trees such as figs and palms. Part of the population appears to migratory or nomadic. Breeding is known to occur from June until March. Their nests are built as a small platform of sticks, towards the outer part of a tree in rainforest. Clutch size for this Fruit-dove is only one. The male incubates the egg during the day and the female at night.
Updated: 22 Jun 2011
Related Links
- Superb Fruit-dove - DEC-NSW Threatened Species Profile