Habitat and Food of the Rose-Crowned Fruit Dove

The rose-crowned fruit dove (Ptilinopus regina) is a rainforest pigeon at risk. The gradual and steady ruination of rainforest is making it more difficult for the birds to locate both shelter and sustenance, according to the Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers website. As a result, the birds have no choice but to cope with the human development surrounding them, generally to their detriment. The birds are declared at risk by the Threatened Species Conservation Act of New South Wales.

The rose-crowned fruit dove species prevails in subtropical and tropical forest regions on coasts, especially areas forested thickly with vines. The birds are especially common in Australia, although they also exist in Indonesia. Other habitats these doves frequent are mangrove stands and woodlands that are abundant in fruit. When gardens and parks are home to fruit trees, rose-crowned fruit doves will contentedly live in those settings, too. Damp eucalyptus forest is also a relatively common site for this dove species.

The rose-crowned fruit dove diet consists entirely of vine fruit, palms, palm foliage, big trees and shrubs. Fruit is a favorite of these doves, who move geographically to follow fruit ripening trends. When they eat fruit, they sometimes eat it without chewing, in one fell swoop. Figs are a preference for the pigeons, as are cherries and grapes. After the doves consume cherries or grapes, they often vomit back up the seeds. When the rose-crowned fruit dove consumes water, it does so through dew or foliage.

The rose-crowned fruit dove has an inclination to eat within rainforest canopy, usually sometime either in the morning or toward the end of the afternoon. The birds sometimes eat on their own but are frequently in the company of other birds during feeding, in very small units.