Rose-crowned fruit dove explained

The rose-crowned fruit dove (Ptilinopus regina), also known as pink-capped fruit dove or Swainson's fruit dove, is a medium-sized fruit dove that is found in parts of southern Indonesia, northern Australia and eastern Australia.

Taxonomy

The rose-crowned fruit dove was formally described in 1825 by the English naturalist William Swainson. He considered his specimens as a variant of the grey-green fruit dove (Ptilinopus purpuratus) and specified the scientific name as Ptilinopus purpuratus var. Regina.^[1] The type locality is New South Wales.^[2]

Five subspecies are recognised:^[3]

• P. r. flavicollis Bonaparte, 1855 – Flores, Savu, Rote, Semau and west Timor (central Lesser Sunda Islands)
• P. r. roseipileum Hartert, EJO, 1904 – east Timor, Wetar, Romang, Kisar, Leti and Moa (east Lesser Sunda Islands)
• P. r. xanthogaster (Wagler, 1827) – Damar Island, Sermata, Nila, Teun and Babar Islands (far east Lesser Sunda Islands), Banda, Kai and Tanimbar Islands (south Moluccas) and Aru Islands (southwest of New Guinea)
• P. r. ewingii Gould, 1842 – northeast Western Australia to northeast Northern Territory and Melville Island (Tiwi Islands, north of Northern Territory; north Australia)
• P. r. regina Swainson, 1825 – Torres Strait islands, north Cape York Peninsula, northeast Queensland to southeast New South Wales (far northeast to southeast Australia)

Description

The rose-crowned fruit dove is long and has a grey head and breast, an orange belly, whitish throat, yellow-orange iris, and greyish green bill and feet. It has a pinkish-red crown with yellow border. The Indonesian subspecies, P. r. xanthogaster, has a whitish crown and paler grey head and breast. Both sexes are similar. The young has a green-colored crown and plumage.

Distribution and habitat

The rose-crowned fruit dove is distributed in lowland rainforests of northern and eastern Australia, and monsoon forests of northern Australia, Lesser Sunda Islands and Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The diet consists mainly of various fruits, palms and vines. The female usually lays a single white egg.

Widespread and common throughout its large range, the rose-crowned fruit dove is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet

Notes and References

1. Swainson . William John . William John Swainson . 1825 . On the characters and natural affinities of several new birds from Australasia; including some observations on the Columbidae . Zoological Journal . 1 . 463-484 [474-476] .
2. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1937 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 3 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 29 .
3. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela C. Rasmussen . December 2023 . Pigeons . IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 7 January 2023 .