Alternative names: Magnificent Fruit-dove or Purple-breasted Fruit-dove.
- Ptilinopus magnificus
Megaloprepia magnifica
Identification
45 centimetres (18 inches) in length but are larger in southern regions. It has purple plumage around its neck, chest and upper belly. Its lower belly is yellow and has a green underparts.
The sexes look similar and the juveniles have a duller and greener plumage compared to adults. Notwithstanding their bright plumage, they are hard to see amongst the forest canopy, not the least thanks to their unobtrusive, quiet habits (Frith et al. 1976).
Distribution
New Guinea and Australia.
In Australia, it inhabits almost exclusively the lowland tropical rainforests along the eastern coast, from central New South Wales to the tip of Cape York Peninsula. Abundancy of the birds increase in a northerly direction.
Taxonomy
Eight subspecies are recognized:[1]
- P. m. puella - West Papuan islands (Waigeo, Misool, Batanta and Salawati) and North-western New Guinea (Vogelkop Mountains)
- P. m. poliurus - lowland New Guinea (except the Vogelkop), including islands off the northern coast
- P. m. assimilis - North-eastern Australia (Cape York Peninsula)
- P. m. keri - North-eastern Australia (Bellenden Ker Range of north-eastern Queensland)
- P. m. magnificus -Eastern Australia (southern Queensland to northern New South Wales)
Habitat
Lowland tropical rainforests.
Behaviour
Diet
The birds feed off fruit-bearing trees in rainforests such as figs. They can eat large fruits whole and are able to acrobatically collect fruit of trees and vines. They do not like to travel long distances, preferring to stay in their local area and make use of whatever fruit are in season.
Vocalisation
Recording by Andrew Whitehouse
Daintree, Cape Tribulation, Queensland, July 2009
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Wompoo Fruit Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Wompoo_Fruit_Dove
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
