The Superb Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus superbus) is a medium-sized bird. It is also known as the Purple-Crowned Fruit Dove.

The male Superb Fruit Dove is very colourful with a purple crown, green cheeks, and an orange nape (back of its neck). His chest is grey, and he has olive-green wings with dark spots, and his tail is tipped with white. The female is mostly green with a white abdomen, blue wing tips, a light-blue chest, and a small dark-blue spot on the back of her head. Both sexes have yellow eyes and yellow eye-rings.

Superb Fruit Dove (male)

It measures about 24 centimetres (9.5 inches) in length.

The Superb Fruit Dove is native to Australasia, in countries such as New Guinea, Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Sulawasi in Indonesia, and Australia (New South Wales and Queensland in the eastern states).

It feeds on fruit and berries.

Their nest is a platform of twigs off the ground. The female lays one small white egg. She sits on it during the night. The male sits on the egg during the day.

Superb Fruit Dove (male)

Superb Fruit Dove (male)

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM