Fruit dove

Fruit doves are colorful, fruit-eating pigeons, especially species in the genus Ptilinopus. They are native to forests across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

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Ptilinopus: A genus of fruit-eating pigeons found mainly in Southeast Asian and Pacific forests. Most birds called fruit doves belong to this genus.
Pink-headed fruit dove: A fruit dove of Philippine forests with a distinctive pink head. Its vivid head exemplifies the striking plumage associated with the group.
Mutualism: An interaction between species in which both participants benefit. Fruit trees provide food, while seed movement can benefit the plants.
Nicobar pigeon: A large, iridescent pigeon native to islands from Southeast Asia to the Pacific. It shares an island pigeon lineage but is not a fruit dove and has a different build.
Columbidae: The bird family that includes pigeons and doves. Fruit doves are members of this family, with its characteristic pigeon ancestry.
Wompoo fruit dove: A large fruit dove native to rainforests of eastern Australia and New Guinea. Its broad range extends the group’s examples beyond Southeast Asian islands.
Island biogeography: The study of how species richness and composition vary among islands. Fruit dove distributions help illustrate how isolation shapes island bird communities.
Victoria crowned pigeon: A large, crested ground-dwelling pigeon native to New Guinea. Its size and terrestrial habits contrast with fruit doves’ typical forest-canopy foraging.
Frugivory: A feeding strategy based on eating fruit. Fruit is the defining food source behind the birds’ name and much of their ecology.
Superb fruit dove: A colorful fruit dove found in forests of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its island distribution illustrates the Pacific reach of fruit doves.