Superb Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus superbus
Tiny rainforest dove with white belly and white vent (compared to Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove which has a yellow belly and vent). Males have a thick black chest band and purple crown. Occurs in eastern Indonesia, New Guinea, and down the east coast of Australia (where it is more common in the north). Voice is often a short sequence of repeated hoots that don’t accelerate to the same extent as Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove.
Identification
It is sexually dimorphic. Males are superbly coloured with a fiery orange nape, green ears, and a purple crown. The breast is grey, and divided from the abdomen by a wide, dark blue band. Their wings are olive green covered with dark spots, and the tail is tipped with white. Females are mostly green, with a white abdomen, blue wing tips, light blue breast, and a small, dark blue spot on the back of the head. Both sexes have yellow eyes and eye-rings. Despite its colourful plumage, the superb fruit dove is well-camouflaged amongst the rainforest foliage.
Taxonomy
Genus: Ptilinopus; Family: Columbidae; Order: Columbiformes.
- Scientific name
- Ptilinopus superbus
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1809)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ptilinopus
Range and habitat
Native to Australasia, the superb fruit dove lives in the rainforests of New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, the Philippines and Sulawesi of Indonesia. In Australia, it is found from southern New South Wales around the town of Moruya and extends further north, where it becomes more common to Cape York in Queensland. In some areas of its range, such as the New Guinean rainforest, it is a resident bird; in more marginal or seasonal habitats such as those in Australia, flocks are known to move about according to the availability of food.
- Migration
- Nomadic
Behavior
Migration pattern: Nomadic.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Bird Calls
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Urubamba Antpitta
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Plump, mostly terrestrial bird with long legs and a short tail found at high elevations in the eastern Andes of southern Peru. Plumage is mostly chestnut brown but is slightly paler on the belly. Similar to Leymebamba Antpitta, but larger, longer legged, and lacks gray in the plumage. The white eyering helps to separate it from Ayacucho Antpitta. Voice is also very helpful for ID; depending on location, it gives either three quick whistles with a pause after the first, or just two whistles. Also sometimes sings a longer, decelerating series of around ten notes. Usually stays well-hidden on or near the forest floor. Formerly considered a subspecies of what used to be called Rufous Antpitta.
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