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11

Superb Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus superbus) Alternate name(s): "Purple-crowned Fruit-Dove", "Purple-crowned Pigeon", "Superb Fruit Pigeon" Size: 22-24 cm Weight: 110-120 g

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 Banded Fruit-Dove Wompoo Fruit-Dove Superb Fruit Dove Rose-crowned Fruit Dove Emerald Dove 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 The bird shown below appeared 20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, only once (around March 2005), when the (bad) photo below was taken. It is a female or immature Superb Fruit-Dove, well outside its usual range. 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.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

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)

PAIR

Close-up frontal view of a pair of Superb Fruit-Doves 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]

Quick shot of a female or juvenile Superb Fruit-Dove far out of range
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, March 2005]

Food, Diet

All pigeons and doves are strictly vegetarian. Superb Fruit-Doves are fruit-eaters.

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

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.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 1 June 2020, 8:37 +00:00