Dove, Jambu Fruit

Info

  • Exhibit: Islands
  • Classification: ,
  • Conservation Status: Near Threatened

CLASSIFICATION
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus: Ptilinopus
Species: jambu

RANGE
Indonesian islands of Sumatra and western Java, and the countries of Thailand and Malaya.

HABITAT
Second growth forests of mangrove swamps and rainforests.

SIZE
Medium sized for a dove. About 9 inches long, weighs about 1.5 ounces. Its wingspan is about 14 inches.

LIFE EXPECTANCY
Unknown

REPRODUCTION
Jambu fruit doves have a breeding territory, which they announce by raising their wings, and cooing while moving the heads forward and bobbing their body up and down. A pair will build a flimsy looking nest of twigs, roots and grasses interwoven with branches of the tree. The male provides the material and the female builds the nest. They usually lay 1 egg, sometimes 2. The egg is incubated by both the male and female for 2–3 weeks, The nest is never left alone during incubation. Both parents help in raising the hatchling. Within one hour of its birth, the hatchling will be fed dove’s milk, a nutritious secretion that both parents make in their crops. Around the tenth day its eyes open for the first time, but its wings will already be functional. Shortly after that it leaves the nest with its parents, who stay very close. The chick is weaned at 8–10 weeks. The young male will look a lot like a female in coloring until it is about 9 months old.
The male’s face and forehead are crimson to pink. The upper part of their throat and chin are black. Their under parts are white with a pink breast patch. Their upper parts are forest green. Their outer parts of the tails are a darker green than the body, and the underside is a chestnut color. The females isn’t as colorful. She is mostly a darkish green with a purple head and a white to cream belly. The underside of her tail is a brown color.

DIET
Wild: Fruit from trees or fallen fruit on ground.
Zoo: Various fruits.

BEHAVIOR

  • Shy and inconspicuous.
  • They spend most of their time roosting, nesting, feeding.
  • Monogamous.
  • Mostly seen alone or in pairs, but will gather into a large flock when feeding at a fruit tree.
  • Males incubate eggs during the day and females incubate during the night.

POINTS OF INTEREST

  • Their green feathers are perfect camouflage.
  • Their nostrils are raised high on their upper bill like most doves. They can put their bill in water and drink by sucking it in. This is a characteristic of Columbiforms. (Most birds can only dip part of their bill in water, so as not to submerge their nostrils, and then have to tip their heads up to let the water trickle down their throats.)
  • Typical of all Columbiforms, the feather coat is very downy and the feathers are easily detached, making them difficult to capture.

STATUS
Threatened. Rare on West Java.

REFERENCES
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/jambu_fruit_dove.htm

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