Wompoo Fruit-Dove
Encyclopedia
The Wompoo Fruit Dove also known as Wompoo Pigeon, is the largest of Fruit Doves native to New Guinea
and Australia
.
s (18 inch
es), but are generally far smaller in northern regions. It has purple plumage
around its neck
, chest
and upper belly
. Its lower belly is yellow and has a green underparts. The sexes look similar and the juveniles
have a duller and greener plumage compared to adults. Notwithstanding their bright plumage
, they are hard to see amongst the forest
canopy, not the least thanks to their unobtrusive, quiet habits (Frith et al. 1976). Their call sounds like ‘wollack-wa-hoo’ and often sounds very human.
s. They also occasionally eat insects. They can eat large fruit
s whole and are able to acrobatically collect fruit of trees and vine
s. They do not like to travel long distances, preferring to stay in their local area and make use of whatever fruit are in season. The diet of this species was extensively studied in the Port Moresby
area by Frith et al. (1976). Despite their small size, they are able to swallow fruits of 5 cm³ volume, which would translate into a diameter of about 2 cm in spherical fruit. Major food items included:
Food items of minor importance were fruit of:
is sturdily constructed from forked twigs not high from the ground. Both sexes help in the construction of the nest. One white egg
is laid and the parents share the incubation and care of the chick. In the event, that the chick dies, the doves will attempt to have a second offspring in the same season.
of Threatened Species.
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Description
The dove measure up to 45 centimetreCentimetre
A centimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one hundredth of a metre, which is the SI base unit of length. Centi is the SI prefix for a factor of . Hence a centimetre can be written as or — meaning or respectively...
s (18 inch
Inch
An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
es), but are generally far smaller in northern regions. It has purple plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
around its neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
, chest
Chest
The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. It is sometimes referred to as the thorax or the bosom.-Chest anatomy - Humans and other hominids:...
and upper belly
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
. Its lower belly is yellow and has a green underparts. The sexes look similar and the juveniles
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
have a duller and greener plumage compared to adults. Notwithstanding their bright plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
, they are hard to see amongst the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
canopy, not the least thanks to their unobtrusive, quiet habits (Frith et al. 1976). Their call sounds like ‘wollack-wa-hoo’ and often sounds very human.
Food
The Wompoo Fruit Dove can be seen in large flocks where food is abundant. The birds feed off fruit-bearing trees in rainforests such as figFicus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s. They also occasionally eat insects. They can eat large fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s whole and are able to acrobatically collect fruit of trees and vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
s. They do not like to travel long distances, preferring to stay in their local area and make use of whatever fruit are in season. The diet of this species was extensively studied in the Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
area by Frith et al. (1976). Despite their small size, they are able to swallow fruits of 5 cm³ volume, which would translate into a diameter of about 2 cm in spherical fruit. Major food items included:
- figFicusFicus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s, particularly Ficus macrophylla, including Ficus albipila, Ficus benjamina, Ficus drupacea, Ficus glaberrima, Ficus virensFicus virensFicus virens is a plant of the genus Ficus found in India, southeast Asia, through Malaysia and into Northern Australia. Its common name is White Fig; it is locally known as pilkhan and in the Gun-djeihmi language it is called an-borndi. Like many figs, its fruits are edible...
and Ficus wassa - preferentially in the late dry and wet season (October - March) - Fruit of cinnamon trees (CinnamomumCinnamomumCinnamomum is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of Cinnamomum have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains over 300 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of North America, Central America,...
sp.), LitseaLitseaLitsea is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes 200 to 400 species in tropical and subtropical areas of both hemispheres.-Overview:Trees or shrubs, dioecious...
, NeolitseaNeolitseaNeolitsea is a genus of 80 species of evergreen shrub and small tree in the laurel family Lauraceae. They range from tropical Asia, Malesia to Australia...
and CryptocaryaCryptocaryaCryptocarya is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropic, Afrotropic, Indomalaya, and Australasia ecozones.-Overview:...
- whenever available - ArecaceaeArecaceaeArecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
(palm) fruit, including ArchontophoenixArchontophoenixArchontophoenix is a plant genus comprising six palm species that are native to New South Wales and Queensland in eastern Australia. They are tall, slender and unbranched.Species include:...
, ArengaArengaArenga is a genus of 24 species of palms, native to tropical regions of southern and southeastern Asia. They are small to medium-sized palms, growing to 2-20 m tall, with pinnate leaves 2-12 m long.Species*Arenga australasica*Arenga brevipes...
, Calamus and CaryotaCaryotaCaryota is a genus of palm trees. They are often known as fishtail palms because of the shape of their leaves. There are about 13 species native to Asia and the South Pacific. One of the more widely known species is Caryota urens, which yields sap used to make an unrefined sugar called jaggery, and...
- mid-late dry season (August - October) and January - AnnonaceaeAnnonaceaeAnnonaceae, also called the custard apple familyis a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs or rarely lianas.With about 2300 to 2500 species and more than 130 genera,...
fruit, such as Ylang-ylangYlang-ylangCananga odorata, commonly called Ylang-ylang , cananga tree, ilang-ilang, kenanga , fragrant cananga, Macassar-oil plant or perfume tree),is a tree valued for its perfume...
(Cananga odorata) and PolyalthiaPolyalthiaPolyalthia is a genus of plant in family Annonaceae. It contains the following species :* Polyalthia angustissima Ridl.* Polyalthia chrysotricha Ridley* Polyalthia elmeri Merr....
- whenever available
Food items of minor importance were fruit of:
- EugeniaEugeniaEugenia is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,000 species occur in the New World tropics, especially in the northern Andes, the Caribbean, and the...
, SyzygiumSyzygiumSyzygium is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1100 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific...
, AcmenaAcmenaAcmena is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. They are related to guavas. The name is derived from the Greek word for "plentiful."The name was first validly published in 1828...
- important in May - Hypserpa - important in July/August
- PlanchonellaPlanchonellaPlanchonella is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. Named in honour of Jules Émile Planchon, it contains around 100 mainly tropical species, two of which reach South America and about 18 make it to Australia. It was described by Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre...
- important August - October - ElaeocarpusElaeocarpusElaeocarpus is a genus of tropical and subtropical evergreen trees and shrubs. The approximately 350 species are distributed from Madagascar in the west through India, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, southern China, and Japan, through Australia to New Zealand, Fiji, and Hawaii in the east. The islands of...
- important in October - Erythroxylon scarinatum - important in November/December
- Tinospora smilacina, GlochidionGlochidionGlochidion are a taxon of plants in the family Phyllanthaceae. It comprises about 300 species, distributed from Madagascar to the Pacific Islands...
, Gomphandra australiana, Gomphandra montana, CayratiaCayratiaThe botanical genus Cayratia comprises approximately 45 species, some of which have utility value to people. It is found in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa, Australia, and islands of the Pacific ocean....
, CissusCissusCissus is a genus of approximately 350 species of woody vines in the grape family . They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. In Tamil they are known as pirandai .-Medicinal:...
, TerminaliaTerminalia (plant)Terminalia is a genus of large trees of the flowering plant family Combretaceae, comprising around 100 species distributed in tropical regions of the world. This genus gets it name from Latin terminus, referring to the fact that the leaves appear at the very tips of the shoots.Trees of this genus...
, DiospyrosDiospyrosDiospyros is a genus of about 450–500 species of deciduous and evergreen trees. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. They are commonly known as ebony or persimmon trees...
, ChionanthusChionanthusChionanthus is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae.The genus has a wide distribution primarily in the tropics and subtropics, but with two species extending north into temperate regions, one in eastern Asia and one in eastern North America...
, Vitex cofassusVitex cofassusVitex cofassus is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.It yields one of two woods from the same genus called Molave Wood, the other being Vitex parviflora....
, AlocasiaAlocasiaAlocasia is a genus of broad-leaved rhizomatous or tuberous perennials from the Family Araceae. There are 78 species of Alocasia occurring in Tropical & Subtropical Asia to Eastern Australia and widely cultivated in Oceania and South America. The large cordate or sagittate leaves grow to a length...
, and PsychotriaPsychotriaPsychotria is a plant genus of 1900 species in the family Rubiaceae. Members of the genus are low trees in tropical forests. The distinction between Psychotria and the genus Cephaelis are not well known and many species were formerly placed there....
- taken as available
Breeding
Breeding times will vary according to weather conditions. The nestNest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
is sturdily constructed from forked twigs not high from the ground. Both sexes help in the construction of the nest. One white egg
Bird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one to about 17...
is laid and the parents share the incubation and care of the chick. In the event, that the chick dies, the doves will attempt to have a second offspring in the same season.
Conservation
Widespread and common throughout its large range, the Wompoo Fruit Dove is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red ListIUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species.