Flame-Breasted Fruit Dove
FLAME-BREASTED FRUIT DOVE
Ptilinopus marchei
Family Columbidae
Bird # 304 - March 2011
This is a beautiful bird! I think we were all very excited to see it because it is the bird that is illustrated on the spine of the Kennedy guide! This was on the same fruiting tree as the Cream-Bellied Fruit Dove.
This bird is an uncommon and local Philippine endemic. The Kennedy guide describes it as "very shy, will fly off when approached". We had to be very quiet and careful while we were watching the mixed flock of Cream-Bellied and Flame-Breasted Fruit Doves that were feeding in the fruiting tree because they did seem very wary and skittish. We even made sure to arrive at the fruiting tree well before sunrise, while it was still dark. The bird in the pictures however was not shy at all. We arrived at the fruiting tree in broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon and it just kept on feeding and eventually settled on one of the branches. It is an immature, and we surmised that it probably hadn't learned yet to be shy and wary. It makes one think that the wary and skittish behavior are learned nor inborn.
It is about 13 1/2 inches long. It is the largest fruit dove in the Philippines.
Read MorePtilinopus marchei
Family Columbidae
Bird # 304 - March 2011
This is a beautiful bird! I think we were all very excited to see it because it is the bird that is illustrated on the spine of the Kennedy guide! This was on the same fruiting tree as the Cream-Bellied Fruit Dove.
This bird is an uncommon and local Philippine endemic. The Kennedy guide describes it as "very shy, will fly off when approached". We had to be very quiet and careful while we were watching the mixed flock of Cream-Bellied and Flame-Breasted Fruit Doves that were feeding in the fruiting tree because they did seem very wary and skittish. We even made sure to arrive at the fruiting tree well before sunrise, while it was still dark. The bird in the pictures however was not shy at all. We arrived at the fruiting tree in broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon and it just kept on feeding and eventually settled on one of the branches. It is an immature, and we surmised that it probably hadn't learned yet to be shy and wary. It makes one think that the wary and skittish behavior are learned nor inborn.
It is about 13 1/2 inches long. It is the largest fruit dove in the Philippines.
