The golden fruit dove (''Ptilinopus luteovirens''), also known as the lemon dove or yellow dove, is a small, approximately 20 cm (8 in) long, short-tailed
fruit-dove
The fruit doves, also known as fruit pigeons, are a genus (''Ptilinopus'') of birds in the pigeon and dove family (Columbidae). These colourful, frugivorous doves are found in forests and woodlands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is a large gen ...
in the family
Columbidae
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
. The
common name refers to the males' bright golden-yellow colour. The body feathers appear almost
iridescent due to their elongated shape and hair-like texture. The head is slightly duller with a greenish tinge. The
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
, orbital skin and legs are bluish-green and the
iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
* Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional ent ...
is whitish. The underwings and tail
coverts
A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts
The ear coverts are s ...
are yellow. The female is a dark green bird with bare parts resembling those of the male. The young resembles the female.
The golden fruit dove is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the forests of
Fiji. The diet consists mainly of various small
fruits,
berries
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...
and
insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
. The female usually lays a single white
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
.
The golden fruit dove is closely related to the
whistling fruit dove
The whistling fruit dove (''Ptilinopus layardi''), also known as the velvet dove or yellow-headed dove, is a small fruit dove from Fiji. The species is endemic to the islands of Kadavu and Ono in the Kadavu Group in the south of Fiji.
Taxonomy
T ...
and
orange fruit dove
The orange fruit dove (''Ptilinopus victor'') is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. One of the most colorful doves, the male has a golden olive head and elongated bright orange "hair-like" body feathers. The golden-olive remiges a ...
. These species are
allopatric, meaning they do not share the same habitat in any location.
A common species throughout its limited range, the golden fruit dove is evaluated as Least Concern on the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
of Threatened Species.
Taxonomy and systematics
The golden fruit dove is one of over 50 species in the genus ''
Ptilinopus
The fruit doves, also known as fruit pigeons, are a genus (''Ptilinopus'') of birds in the pigeon and dove family (Columbidae). These colourful, frugivorous doves are found in forests and woodlands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is a large gen ...
''. Within the genus, it is most closely related to the
orange fruit dove
The orange fruit dove (''Ptilinopus victor'') is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae. One of the most colorful doves, the male has a golden olive head and elongated bright orange "hair-like" body feathers. The golden-olive remiges a ...
and
whistling fruit dove
The whistling fruit dove (''Ptilinopus layardi''), also known as the velvet dove or yellow-headed dove, is a small fruit dove from Fiji. The species is endemic to the islands of Kadavu and Ono in the Kadavu Group in the south of Fiji.
Taxonomy
T ...
. These three species are placed together in their own subgenus, ''Chrysoena''. They are also sometimes treated as their own genus. It is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
.
The species' generic name comes from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
''ptilon'' (feather) and ''pous'' (foot), while the
specific epithet ''luteovirens'' is from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''luteus'' (orange-yellow), and ''virens'' (green), referring to its colour.
Distribution and habitat
The golden dove is endemic to the islands of
Viti Levu
Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian ...
,
Ovalau,
Beqa,
Ngau and
Waya
{{Infobox racehorse
, horsename = Waya
, image_name = Racing silks of George Strawbridge.png
, caption = Racing silks of George Strawbridge
, sire = Faraway Son
, grandsire = Ambiopoise
, dam =War Path
, damsire = Blue Prince
, sex = Fil ...
. It mainly inhabits open forest,
gallery forest
A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...
, and
secondary growth
In botany, secondary growth is the growth that results from cell division in the cambia or lateral meristems and that causes the stems and roots to thicken, while primary growth is growth that occurs as a result of cell division at the tips of ...
, but is also found in mature
rainforest with sparse undergrowth and tall trees. It is found between elevations of . They are occasionally found near towns and villages.
References
Cited text
*
External links
BirdLife Species FactsheetInternational Dove Society.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1263733
golden fruit dove
The golden fruit dove (''Ptilinopus luteovirens''), also known as the lemon dove or yellow dove, is a small, approximately 20 cm (8 in) long, short-tailed fruit-dove in the family Columbidae. The common name refers to the males' brigh ...
Endemic birds of Fiji
golden fruit dove
The golden fruit dove (''Ptilinopus luteovirens''), also known as the lemon dove or yellow dove, is a small, approximately 20 cm (8 in) long, short-tailed fruit-dove in the family Columbidae. The common name refers to the males' brigh ...
Taxa named by Jacques Bernard Hombron
Taxa named by Honoré Jacquinot
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN