Beautiful Fruit Dove

More Information

Beautiful fruit doves are distinguished by their crimson forehead, yellow bill, gray face and chest, red chest banding, and an orange-yellow belly. Males and females look the same and can be up to 8 inches in length. These small, non-migratory birds prefer lowlands and mid-elevation forests in areas with high rainfall. They make a mournful, descending “woo-ooo” or a rapid “wooloo” sound.

These birds generally live alone or in pairs. When courting, males puff out their chests and stretch their bodies while vocalizing for females. Females lay a single egg at a time, then incubate it for 15–18 days in a delicate nest of twigs. Once hatched, chicks are fed a special secretion from the parents called “crop milk.” They grow quickly and can fly within two weeks after hatching.

Did You Know?

• Beautiful fruit doves are also called rose-fronted pigeons or crimson-capped fruit doves. Despite their small size, they can eat whole fruits with a volume of up to 2 inches.
• Although they are known for their brightly colored feathers, beautiful fruit doves are able to effectively camouflage in the forests where they live.
• This bird species has a large native range, where it is common and considered a species of Least Concern, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Beautiful fruit dove numbers have not been quantified, but they are considered to be slowly declining.