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Friday, March 12, 2010

Fiji Birds 2

Monday, March 8, 2010

Fiji Birds....Doves

 
The Whistling Dove ( Ptilinopus layardi):  is a small fruit dove from Fiji.  The species has two other common names, the Velvet Dove and the Yellow-headed Dove. It is  a small dove of 20 cm.  The species is currently  common in  the forests of Kadavu and Ono islands group in the south of Fiji.

The Many-coloured Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus perousii): is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.  It is found in Fiji, the Samoan Islands, and Tonga. It usually feeds  high  in the canopy  on fruit and  berries, especially figs. The  nest is a small platform of twigs where one white egg is laid. It is  a small dove, 23 cm in length. The male  is mostly pale yellow-white  with  a red  crown  and red bar across  the back. The female  is mostly green, darker  on the back  and greyer on the head and breast. Her crown is red while the under tail-coverts are red in Samoan birds  and yellow  in birds from Fiji and Tonga.

 The Purple-capped Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus porphyraceus): It is also  known  as  the  Crimson-crowned Fruit-dove  or Crimson-capped  Fruit-dove. It  is a  species of  bird in   Columbidae  family. It  is  found  in   American  Samoa,  Fiji,Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. 


The Orange Dove or Flame Dove (Ptilinopus victor): It  is a small (20 cm long) and the most colorful doves, belongs in Columbidae family. The male has a golden olive head and elongated bright orange "hair-like" body feathers. The legs, bill and orbital skin are bluish-green and the iris is whitish. The female is a dark green  bird with  blackish tail and orange-yellow under tail coverts. It can be seen in the  forests  of Vanua Levu,  Taveuni, Rabi, Kioa,  Qamea and Laucala islands of Fiji. The Orange Dove is closely related to the allopatric Whistling Dove and Golden Dove.