Black-banded Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus alligator
Very large black-and-white forest pigeon, found as singles or small groups in large fruiting trees beside sandstone escarpments in the Kakadu National Park region of the Northern Territory. Generally hard to find. Yellowish-white head and chest, black breast band, gray belly, dark gray back and wings, and pale tip to blackish tail. Compare Torresian Imperial-Pigeon, an almost entirely white bird, with the exception of black outer wing and black tail tip. Loud, slow, repeated booming call.
Identification
The black-banded fruit dove (Ptilinopus alligator) is a large (38–44 cm in length, 450-570 g in weight) pigeon with white head, neck and upper breast; black back and upperwing grading to grey on rump; black tail with broad grey terminal band; underparts grey, demarcated from white head and neck by broad black band.
Taxonomy
Genus: Ptilinopus; Family: Columbidae; Order: Columbiformes.
- Scientific name
- Ptilinopus alligator
- Authority
- Collett, 1898
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ptilinopus
Range and habitat
The species is endemic to Australia, where it is restricted to the western edge of the Arnhem Land escarpment. Patches of monsoonal rainforest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Mexican Sheartail
Doricha eliza
Only in Mexico. Fairly common small hummingbird of dry coastal scrub in northern Yucatan Peninsula; also very local in dry scrub of central Veracruz. Favors fairly open areas with low scrubby bushes and agave plants. Note the long and slightly arched bill and the long tail, which is usually held closed in a single point. Striking male is distinctive if you are lucky enough to see one. Females and immatures have a distinctive dusky cheek stripe, and usually outnumber adult males by at least 5 to 1.
Black-throated Finch
Poephila cincta
Small finch of grassy woodlands. Mostly brown (darker above), with a gray head, black throat, black bill, and white undertail. Black tail relatively short and rounded. Masked Finch has longer, pointed tail, yellow bill, and brown head. Feeds in grasses or on the ground, sometimes in large flocks, mixed with other species. Call is a long descending whistle.
Olive-backed Flowerpecker
Pachyglossa olivacea
A tiny bird of lowland and foothill forest and edge. Golden-olive above, darker on the edge of the wing, with white underparts and dark gray from the sides of the throat becoming broad streaks on the sides of the chest. Note the slightly hooked bill and the red eye. From below, somewhat similar to Pygmy Flowerpecker with its dark sides, but Olive-backed has a golden-olive back. Voice includes a sweet, high-pitched upslurred whistle and a sharp “tsik!” call, sometimes run together in a rapid series.
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