Black-banded Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus alligator Scientific name definitions

33–35 cm; 200–256 g. Head , neck and upper breast white  with cream tinge  ; mantle and wings black  , grading to grey on rump and uppertail-coverts; broad black band  across lower breast, grading to dark grey belly, flanks and undertail-coverts; tail black  with broad pale grey terminal band; bill  greenish yellow with yellow tip; legs red. Juvenile like adult but duller and with greenish tinge to dark plumage; pale edging to feathers of mantle and upperwing-coverts; bill bluish grey, beginning to change to adult colour at c. 60 days.

Relict areas of rain forest on sandstone escarpments along the western edge of Arnhem Land.

Apparently sedentary, and rarely observed more than 1 km from the escarpment. Flight is strong, powerful and undulating; flushed birds take off with a loud wing-clap.

Feeds on a variety of fruits including figs (Ficus, Moraceae), ebony (Diospyros, Ebenaceae), wild tobacco (Solanum, Solanaceae), and members of Anacardiaceae, Rosaceae, Annonaceae, Elaeocarpaceae and Lauraceae. Fruits are plucked by birds perched on branches or twigs. Found singly, in pairs, or in small groups.

Advertising call is a series of 6–9 low-pitched coos at a rate of c. 1 note/second.

Eggs late May to early Jul and Sept. Builds a loose, open platform of twigs 2·5–4 m up in a shrub or small tree. Clutch 1 egg. One nestling hatched in the wild and subsequently hand-reared was sparsely covered with pale grey down at hatching; at 30 days, its juvenile plumage was complete and it was very active; moult from juvenile to adult plumage began at c. 65 days, and was complete by 150 days.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Restricted to a relict habitat within a very small range. No population estimates available, in part due to the inaccessibility of habitat, but thought to be much greater than 1000 birds (1 Garnett, S., Szabo, J. and Dutson, G. (2011). The Action Plan for Australian Birds 248148. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN: 9780643103689. Close ). Until recently, range was virtually inaccessible to man, but uranium mining and tourist development may threaten survival of species in long term.