Lilac Capped Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus coronulatus)
Zoo collection includes: Two
Found in the wild: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea. The Fruit Dove's habitats include forests , woodland areas, mangrove swamps and small islets.
See Them at the Central Park Zoo: In the tropical rain forest.
Description: A beautiful bird with a lilac head, pale green chest and bright green feathers with a patch of red on its belly.
What do they eat: Fruit
Threats: Not threatened
Fun Facts: Indonesia has more endemic birds than any other country. Alternate common name(s): Coroneted Fruit Dove, Coronated Fruit-Dove, Lilac-capped Fruit-Dove, Lilac-crowned Fruit-Dove, Little Coroneted Fruit-Dove, Diadem Fruit-Dove, Lilac-crowned Fruit-Pigeon
Bleeding-heart Dove (Gallicolumba luzonica)
Zoo collection includes: Two
Found in the wild: Phillippines
See Them at the Central Park Zoo: Tropical Rain Forest
Description: The name 'bleeding-heart' comes from the patch of red on the breast of these birds. Otherwise they are grey above and paler buff below. Bleeding-heart doves live only in the Philippines.
What do they eat: Fruits - frugivore, seeds - granivore, insects - insectivore
Threats: Mindanao bleeding heart dove is Endangered; the Luzon bleeding heart dove is near threatened.
Fun Facts: A relative of the Imperial pigeon and dodo. This is a dove that spends much of its time as a chicken does, on the ground among the dead leaves, looking for food. Generally they live in dense forest. Like other doves and pigeons, these birds stay in touch with other flock members by a series of coos. Males also woo females using a series of coos.
Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica)
Zoo collection includes: Eight
Found in the wild: On small islands or islets in southeastern Asia, particularly from Nicobar Island to New Guinea and north to the Philippines.
See Them at the Central Park Zoo: In the Tropic building, these birds may be found perched above the stairs descending from the Mezzanine level or just inside the entrance to the building on the left-hand side.
Description: Males are metallic-green/blue with coppery reflections. The head and flight feather colors are slate blue to black. They have a “mane” of long, hair-like feathers around the neck. The long neck feathers, called hackles, are black and purple iridescence. The very short tail is pure white. Females have shorter neck hackles.
What do they eat: Seeds, berries, and insects. These birds feed on the ground. At the Central Park Zoo, these beautiful birds are fed avian pellets, seed mix, and bird salad.
Life span: In the Wild 8-12 years; In Captivity 10-15 years.
Threats: Trapping for food and the pet trade. The clearance of small islands for plantations and the adjacent areas of lowland forest which it requires for foraging must have reduced numbers. Predation by rats, cats and other alien predators at nesting grounds can affect large numbers of birds due to the colonial nature of the species.
Fun Facts: Like all pigeons and doves, these birds do not not sip when drinking, but instead they immerse their bill, sucking up water. Males have a small black knob at the base of the bill near the forehead. The bill is strong and hooked. Nicobar pigeons are monogamous and tend to mate for life.
Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria)
Zoo collection includes: Six plus one juvenile born in the spring of 2013.
Found in the wild: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
See Them at the Central Park Zoo: In the tropical rain forest.
Description: Up to 24 inches, they are the largest pigeon. These grayish-blue birds have some purplish and red markings and a crested crown of feathers, which are tipped with white. They have a long tail that sweeps the ground. They have a small head like other pigeons, and red eyes. Their beak is long and hooked.
What do they eat: Rugivore, seeds - granivore, snails - molluscivore
Threats: They are hunted for food and sport and collected alive for illegal sale. There are also forestry and mining activities that threaten the forest they live in. They have largely disappeared from areas of human habitation but are thought to be fairly common in the wilder jungles of New Guinea.
Fun Facts: The sounds that these birds make are unusual. Their contact call sounds a bit like the sound created by blowing over the top of a milk bottle, whilst their display call is a dramatic 'boom-pa!' The name commemorates the British Monarch, Queen Victoria.
Black-naped Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus melanospila)
Zoo collection includes: Several
Found in the wild: Edges of rainforests in the Philippines and the Pacific Islands, including Java and Bali.
See Them at the Central Park Zoo: At CPZ, these doves have free reign over the building and may often be seen perching in the branches of low trees.
Description: The male has a pale grey head with black nape, yellow throat, and golden yellow and pink undertail coverts. The female and the young have an entirely green plumages.
Zoo Habitat: Tropical rain forest
What do they eat: The diet consists mainly of various fruits, figs and berries.
Life span: years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity
Threats: Not threatened
Fun Facts: The female usually lays one single white egg.