Pink-spotted Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus perlatus Scientific name definitions

25–27 cm; 245–257 g. Head greenish yellow with an olive tinge, narrowly bordered at nape with bronzy gold and separated from green upperparts by a pale bluish grey collar, which is contiguous with whitish grey of throat and malar region; extreme upper breast and narrow margin to grey collar golden bronze; lower breast and belly dark yellowish green; upperparts green, more or less bronze-tinged; bright pink centres of many lesser wing-coverts and scapulars form extensive pink spotting on inner part of closed wing; secondaries and greater-coverts darker, more bluish green with narrow yellow edges to outer webs; undertail-coverts whitish, marked sparsely with greyish green; bill yellow horn to yellow-olive or dark greenish yellow; legs dark red. Sexes alike. Juvenile plumage apparently undescribed. Race <em>zonurus</em> has pale greenish silver terminal tailband  ; <em>plumbeicollis</em> has grey head .

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Frequents forest edge, disturbed and partly cleared areas, rain forest, monsoon forest and gallery forest. Occurs mainly in lowlands and hills, locally in lower mountains up to 1220 m. In contrast to closely related P. ornatus, most frequently found in lowland secondary forest, not medium altitude primary forest.

A nomadic, flocking species; numbers fluctuate in association with availability of fruit at fruiting trees. In a study near Port Moresby, most birds left the area Jun–Aug, in the middle of the dry season.

Feeds primarily on figs (Moraceae), and to a much lesser extent on the fruits of Annonaceae and Lauraceae. Typically feeds in flocks, which may number hundreds in large fruiting trees.

Calls includes a ‘hoo’ series and a seesaw, both low-pitched (2 Pratt, T. K., and B. M. Beehler (2015) Birds of New Guinea. Second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ). The externallink begins with one or two isolated notes and then accelerates, with the notes initially rising and then falling in pitch through the series. The seesaw consists of 4–6 notes, alternate ones differing slightly in pitch, and each note initially upslurred then downslurred.

Morphological data suggest species capable of breeding all year round; the few nests reported were found in Jun and Aug. Nest is a thin platform of twigs, typical of the genus; one was 3 m up in a thin sapling; the fact that nests of this species have rarely been found may perhaps indicate that they are often placed high in trees. Lays 1 white egg.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). No precise details available, but species generally reckoned to be fairly common, locally abundant; one of commonest Ptilinopus in New Guinea. Research required.