Orange Dove
Ptilinopus victor
A spectacular and unique dove. Male is vivid orange with peculiar hair-like feathers and bright yellow wingtips. Head is duller brown than body. Female is mostly green with a yellow undertail and a brownish face. She resembles female Golden and Velvet Doves, but those species do not overlap in range. Unique voice sounds much like a dripping tap from a distance, but up close more like someone clicking their thumb and finger together: a regular “drip drip drip.”
Taxonomy
The orange fruit dove was originally described as Chrysoena victor by John Gould in 1872, based on specimens from Vanua Levu, Fiji. The species' generic name comes from the Ancient Greek ptilon (feather) and pous (foot), while the specific epithet victor is from the Latin victor, meaning "conqueror". Alternative names for the orange fruit dove include orange dove and flame dove.<p>It is one of over 50 species in the genus Ptilinopus. Within the genus, it is sister to the whistling fruit dove, with these two being most closely related to the golden dove. These three species are placed together in the subgenus Chrysoena. They have also sometimes been treated as their own genus.<p>There are two recognised subspecies. Intermediates between the subspecies exist.
- Scientific name
- Ptilinopus victor
- Authority
- (Gould, 1872)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ptilinopus
Range and habitat
The orange fruit dove is endemic to Fiji, where it is found on the islands of Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kioa, Rabi, Laucala, and Qamea. It inhabits woodland like other species in the subgenus Chrysoena. It prefers open forests, including secondary and gallery forest, but is also common in closed-canopy old-growth forest. The species is submontane and occurs at elevations of 420–980 m (1,380–3,220 ft), but its absence in lowlands may be caused by a lack of suitable habitat due to deforestation instead of elevation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The orange fruit dove is not very social and usually lives alone or in pairs, or less frequently in small groups or in pairs of two females. Flocks of up to seven birds have been recorded in one tree. Its flight is quick and straight, with whirring wingbeats.<p>The species is mainly frugivorous, feeding on small fruits and berries with a diameter of 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in). It has also been observed gleaning invertebrates like caterpillars from leaves. Foraging mostly occurs in the upper canopy and understorey, and flocks at fruits trees are rarely larger than usual ones.<p>Nesting has been observed in June, September, November, and December, suggesting that the orange fruit dove's breeding season is extended. Nests are flimsy platforms made of a few intertwined sticks, usually placed low down on a tree in the subcanopy, with one nest observed at a height of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Clutches usually contain a single white egg, although some have been recorded with two eggs. Only females have been observed incubating eggs and taking care of chicks.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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