White-capped fruit dove facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-capped fruit dove |
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Ptilinopus
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| Species: |
dupetithouarsii
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The white-capped fruit dove (Ptilinopus dupetithouarsii) is a beautiful bird from the Columbidae family, which includes doves and pigeons. Locals sometimes call it "kuku." A French scientist named Adolphe-Simon Neboux first described this bird in 1840. It lives only on the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The bird's name honors a French admiral and botanist, Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars. There are two types, or subspecies, of this dove: Ptilinopus d. dupetithouarsii and Ptilinopus d. viridior.
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What's in a Name?
The name of the dove's group, Ptilinopus, comes from ancient Greek words. "Ptilon" means feather, and "pous" means foot. This name describes how many birds in this group have feathers on their legs. The second part of the dove's scientific name, dupetithouarsii, honors Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars. He was a French admiral and botanist. In 1841, he successfully claimed the Marquesas Islands for France.
What Does It Look Like?
The white-capped fruit dove is a very colorful bird. Its wings are green with patches of blue. Its belly is yellow, but it has a bright red and orange spot in the middle. The yellow color gets brighter towards the underside of its tail. Its throat is also yellow, similar to its belly.
As its name suggests, this dove has a light white cap on its head. This white color goes all the way to its beak. Right under its white cap and next to its eyes, there is a colorful line. This line goes from around its eye to the back of its head. It can be yellow or a darker color. The ring around its eye looks orange. The rest of its feathers are less colorful, often beige or grayish.
This bird weighs about 100 grams, which is like a small apple. Its wings are about 14.5 centimeters long.
How It Evolved
Island Life and New Species
The white-capped fruit dove has a close relative called the Red-moustached Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus mercierii). Sadly, this relative is now extinct. Both species lived on islands like Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka, and Hiva Oa. They shared similar living spaces and food sources. Scientists think they might have evolved separately on the same island.
This idea is called "microallopatry." It means that even on one island, there was enough space for the two species to live apart. Volcanic activity on Nuku Hiva millions of years ago created different areas, like calderas (large volcanic craters). These areas could have separated the birds. This separation allowed them to become different species while still having enough food.
How It Behaves
What Sounds Does It Make?
White-capped fruit doves make typical dove sounds, often described as "coo." Their calls start with a rising pitch and then get lower. Some people describe their sounds as "mournful." The white-capped fruit dove usually starts with long, slow calls. These calls can then speed up and become shorter as the bird continues to vocalize. You can hear examples of their calls online. [1][2]
What Does It Eat?
White-capped fruit doves are frugivores, which means they mostly eat fruits. They also look for seeds on the ground. They have been seen searching the forest floor for fallen fruits. They especially like berries more than other foods found on the islands. Because they eat mostly fruit, these doves have a slower metabolism. This means they need less energy for their daily activities compared to birds that eat seeds.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Most fruit doves lay only one egg at a time. Their babies, called squabs, are born helpless. They need a lot of care from their parents to grow up. Like other doves and pigeons, both parents feed their young with "crop milk." This special milk is made in their own bodies.
We don't know a lot about how the white-capped fruit dove reproduces specifically. However, we know about other doves in the same group, like the Jambu fruit dove (Ptilinopus jambu). In these doves, the female bird gives more parental care. She spends her day just eating. The male feeds and sits on the squabs during the day. Then, the female takes over in the evening, at night, and in the morning. Fruit doves feed and care for their young less often than seed-eating doves. This might be because of their slower metabolism, the nutrients in their crop milk, and because they only lay one egg.
Where It Lives
Its Home
White-capped fruit doves prefer living in forests. These forests must have lots of fruiting plants. They have been seen resting near large trees called banyans. These doves often fly from areas with fewer fruits and flowers to places with more food. They sometimes fly over mountains to find food. It's rare to see these doves in the wild because they like to stay in very dense forests.
Where You Can Find It
The white-capped fruit dove lives only in French Polynesia. You can find it on the Marquesas Islands. The subspecies Ptilinopus d. dupetithouarsii lives on the southern islands. These include Hiva Oa, Tahuata, Mohotani, and Fatuhiva. The other subspecies, Ptilinopus d. viridior, lives on the northern islands. These are Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka, and Ua Pou.
Protecting the Species
The white-capped fruit dove is listed as "least concern" by the IUCN Red List. This means it's not currently at high risk of extinction. However, some studies look at why island species might be at risk. These studies show that living only in one place (endemism), body size, and diet are important factors for bird extinction risk.
The white-capped fruit dove was identified as a "false-positive." This means it might seem to have a high extinction risk, but it's actually quite strong or has good conservation efforts. To keep this species safe in the future, more studies are needed. These studies would help assess how to manage wildlife and protect the doves.
On Tahuata island, the number of white-capped fruit doves has been going down. This is because of the great horned owl, which was brought to the island.
