Species Fact Profile: Mariana Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus roseicapilla)

Mariana Fruit Dove

Ptilinopus roseicapilla (Lesson, 1831)

Range: Mariana Islands (Extirpated on Guam)
Habitat: Limestone Forests, Secondary Growth
Diet: Fruits
Social Grouping: Solitary or Paired (Not Territorial)
Lifespan: 20 Years (Captivity)
Reproduction: Breed year round (peak breeding season April - August), nest on flimsy stick platforms in the forks of trees, usually lay a single egg which is incubated for 17-18 days, chick fledges at 14-18 days
Conservation Status: IUCN Endangered

• Body length 22-24 centimeters, weight 93 grams
• Males and females look alike - predominately green, with the top of the head is a deep, rose-red cap with a grey head, back, and breast; the stomach has a yellow patch, with additional yellow under the tail coverts; juveniles are completely green
• Very arboreal, the doves primarily stay in the canopies of the trees, but may come to the ground to feed, including on invasive plant species
• The species was last seen on Guam in 1985, extirpated following the introduction of the brown tree snake; it does, however, exist in the wild on other islands in the Marianas, as well as in North American zoos and aviaries
• Official bird of the Mariana Islands