Family Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)
Least Concern
Eastern Ornate Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus gestroi)
Taxonomy
French: Ptilope de Gestro German: Östliche Schmuckfruchttaube Spanish: Tilopo adornado oriental
Other common names:
Gestro's Fruit-dove
Taxonomy:
Ptilonopus [sic] gestroi
D’Albertis and Salvadori
, 1876,Yule Island, New Guinea
.Distribution:
New Guinea hills E from Cyclops Mts and Onin Peninsula.
Descriptive notes
c. 25 cm; 163 g. Forehead to nape and ear-coverts orangey-yellow tinged olive, narrow blue-grey neckband, bordered above and below by dark ochraceous, grading into purplish-... read more
Voice
Sings mainly when breeding in mountains: a series of “hoo” notes in form of a seesaw, “whooo-whoou-... read more
Habitat
Inhabits primary rainforest and nearby disturbed areas; found primarily within altitudinal range of... read more
Food and feeding
Frugivorous; ten birds collected near Port Moresby had eaten solely figs (Ficus, Moraceae) of several species. Often feeds in... read more
Breeding
Nesting and associated behaviour reported in Oct (E New Guinea) and Feb (Foja Mts, W New Guinea). One nest, typical of the genus,... read more
Movements
Apparently nomadic; however, some birds may be found most months of year in a given area.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Population thought to be stable and not threatened. Described as being common in many areas, and even locally abundant, with strong association to... read more
Hitherto considered conspecific with P. ornatus but here treated as a separate species on account of its greenish-yellow vs purplish-red crown and cheek (3); broader, bolder mustard-yellow line below the grey of the throat and side-collar, shading to stronger golden-brown vs duller greenish-brown bordering the grey of the hindcollar (1); and richer russet-brown vs greenish-ochre breast and neck-sides, forming much more distinctive, darker area on mantle (3); in addition, leg colour may be different, red in gestroi (fide specimen labels), possibly yellow or whitish in ornatus, but no documented proof available. Also very closely related to the largely sympatric P. perlatus, although tends to be ecologically separated; presumably part of the group centred on P. tannensis. Birds from Onin Peninsula E to Chimbu Province sometimes separated as race kaporensis, but barely differ from gestroi#R. Monotypic.