Alternative names: Rapa Island Fruit Dove, Hutton's Fruit Dove
- Ptilinopus huttoni
Identification
31 cm.
- Pinkish purple forehead, forecrown, small malar patch, patch on upper belly and undertail-coverts
- Silvery grey neck and breast tinged with green
- Yellow ventral area
- Dull green back, wings and tail, shading to blue-green on wings
- Yellow eye
- Yellow bill with pink base
- Red legs
Sexes similar. Juveniles without colourful crown and duller plumage with yellow fringes to feathers of wings and upperparts.
Distribution
Endemic to Rapa Island in the Tubuai (or Austral) Islands, French Polynesia.
An endangered species. A survey in 1990 resulted in a population estimate of 274 birds (making it one of the rarest birds of the world). The species is threatened by habitat loss and the remaining habitat covers only 292 ha, mainly in gullies.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Found in the remaining patches of dense forest from 40 up to 450 m.
Mainly confined to the limited areas of natural habitat.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds mainly on fruit but also known to take insects and feeding on flowers or nectar. Fruits include guava, coffee beans, Meryta and Homalanthus.
Breeding
Juveniles recorded in February, April and December. No more information.
Movements
Often seen flying between the remaining patches of habitat on the island with heavy wingbeats with intermittent glides.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Nov 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Rapa Fruit Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rapa_Fruit_Dove
