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Superb Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus superbus) Alternate name(s): "Purple-crowned Fruit-Dove", "Purple-crowned Pigeon", "Superb Fruit Pigeon" Size: 22-24 cm; wing span: 34-38 cm Body mass: 76-144 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.35-0.67

Australia: Family Group 11 Family Group 11 Table White-headed Pigeon Pied Imperial Pigeon Topknot Pigeon Crested Pigeon Spinifex Pigeon Flock Bronzewing Common Bronzewing Brush Bronzewing Squatter Pigeon Partridge Pigeon White-quilled Rock-Pigeon Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon Black-Banded Fruit-Dove Wompoo Fruit-Dove Superb Fruit Dove Rose-crowned Fruit Dove Pacific Emerald Dove Nicobar Pigeon Brown Cuckoo-Dove Wonga Pigeon Peaceful Dove Diamond Dove Bar-shouldered Dove Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Superb Fruit-Doves are small, very colourful doves. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Males have a purple crown and rusty-orange sides and nape of the neck, with a yellowish-green patch behind the eye. Throat and chest are grey, with a wide black band across the lower chest and off-white belly and vent. Females have an olive-green to dull purple-blue crown, grey throat and chest and an off-white belly. The sides of the neck are also olie-green to yellowish-green, the nape of the neck is green. The back und uppertail of both sexes are olive-green. The wings are olive, with dark-grey dorsal spots and yellow edge lining. The irises are pale-yellow, with a dark spot towards the bill. The bill is grey, the legs and feet are reddish-pink. Juvenile Superb Fruit-Doves resemble females, with a greener cap and more prominent yellow lining of the wing feathers, which do not yet have dark dorsal spots.

Taxonomy, classification See Superb Fruit-Dove at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Superb Fruit-Dove is available HERE . There are two races of Superb Fruit-Doves. Together they populate an area spanning from the islands of eastern Indonesia, via New Guinea, to parts of eastern Australia. In Australia, Superb Fruit-Doves populate a narrow strip along the entire East coast of the continent, from the tip of Cape York peninsula to the south-eastern tip and several off-shore islands, especially along the Torres Strait. Their preferred habitat is rainforest, but they will search for fruit in more open forest as well.

Sightings Click here for sighting information M. Mearns reports spotting a Superb Fruit-Dove at Bunya Mountains NP, QLD, in December 2015. M. Eaton reports finding a Superb Fruit-Dove in the Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, in May/June 2020. Others were found at Kingfisher Lodge, Julatten, QLD, in October 2024.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Close-up frontal view of a pair of Superb Fruit-Doves in captivity, male on the right (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kingfisher Lodge, Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Near-frontal view of a male Superb Fruit-Dove looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kingfisher Lodge, Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kingfisher Lodge, Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Close-up frontal view of a male Superb Fruit-Dove in captivity (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)

FEMALE

Close-up frontal view of a female Superb Fruit-Dove in captivity (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of an immature male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, June 2020]

Near-frontal view of an immature male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, June 2020]

Near-lateral view of an immature male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, June 2020]

Near-lateral view of an immature male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, June 2020]

Lateral view of an immature male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, May 2020]

Near-dorsal view of an immature male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, June 2020]

Dorsal view of an immature male Superb Fruit-Dove (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, June 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: ?

Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food, Diet

All pigeons and doves are strictly vegetarian. Superb Fruit-Doves feed exclusively on fruit.

Immature male Superb Fruit-Dove taking a native fig (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, June 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Doves and pigeons do not, like other birds, open their bills when calling, but they rather "hum" through their noses, with the bill closed.

spfrdov_me_20241024_noNR.m4a	(N QLD)	Contact calls(?) (+ Spangled Drongo)	© ME
spfrdov_me_20241024.m4a	(N QLD)	Contact calls(?)	© ME

More Superb Fruit-Dove sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.