- Scientific Name: Ptilinopus coralensis Peale, 1848
- Polynesian Names: O’o (Tuamotu), kuku (Mangareva)
- Order: Columbiformes
- Family: Columbidae
- Category: Endemic Birds
- Location: Tuamotu
Apearance and identification
8 inches. Male and female identical in appearance. Head, throat and chest are grey-white to pale green with a yellow belly. The cap is bright pink. The back, wings and tail are green dotted with a few blue-green stains. Large tail feathers and wings are green blue piped yellow. The beak is orange-yellow and legs are red burgundy.
Videos
Voice
Characteristics
Species present in many Tuamotu atolls.
Nests consist of intertwined branches, built in trees or bushes. Spawning is composed of a single white egg (32-35 x 21-22 mm). This species probably breeds all year but less frequently during the austral winter.
Atoll forests which consist of puatea (Pisonia grandis) tafano (Guettarda speciosa) tahinu (Tournefortia argentea) and coconut plantations. The species also appreciate the naupata (Scaevola sericea) found on border of the beach and shrubs Timonius polygamus.
The song is a slow cooing, identical to that of the Grey-green Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus purpuratus).
All kinds of fleshy fruits (Timonius polygamus, Tournefortia argentea, Morinda citrifolia) tafano leaves, insects.
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Location
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Species present in many Tuamotu atolls.
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Breeding
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Nests consist of intertwined branches, built in trees or bushes. Spawning is composed of a single white egg (32-35 x 21-22 mm). This species probably breeds all year but less frequently during the austral winter.
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Habitat
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Atoll forests which consist of puatea (Pisonia grandis) tafano (Guettarda speciosa) tahinu (Tournefortia argentea) and coconut plantations. The species also appreciate the naupata (Scaevola sericea) found on border of the beach and shrubs Timonius polygamus.
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Voice
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The song is a slow cooing, identical to that of the Grey-green Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus purpuratus).
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Food
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All kinds of fleshy fruits (Timonius polygamus, Tournefortia argentea, Morinda citrifolia) tafano leaves, insects.
Status and protection
If the Atoll Fruit Dove is not yet threatened, it is undeniably in danger of becoming scarce. The main reasons are : the introduction of predators such as cats or rats in the atolls, coupled with the gradual disappearance of its traditional habitat for the benefit of coconut plantations.
The species is listed in category A of the list of species protected by the territorial regulations of French Polynesia.
The species is classified as “Near Threatened” (NT) on the IUCN Red List.
Original text by Caroline BLANVILLAIN – Supplements and update by various members of the SOP Manu.