Biology and conservation of the Pink-headed Fruit-dove Ptilinopus porphyreus

The Pink-headed Fruit-dove Ptilinopus porphyreus is a little-known, restricted range species, endemic to the mountains of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. In the period 1981-2001 we conducted surveys throughout its range and compiled data on its presence and absence on 32 isolated mountain complexes. It occurs exclusively on mountains of >2000 m in altitude, where, depending on the size of the mountain, it reaches its lower altitudinal limit between 500 and 1000 m. The species is found mostly in singles or as pairs but occasionally in flock up to 17 individuals. It occurs almost exclusively in forest where it feeds on figs and small berries in the upper-canopy. We documented three cases of breeding in the wild; from captive birds it is known that a single egg is laid which is incubated for 20 days, with fledging occurring after another 15-16 days. Based on a study of 104 skins, the breeding season peak in from West Java is assessed at the beginning of the dry season. The global range of the Pink-headed Fruit-dove is restricted to <12,000 km2 of forest, scattered over 20 major mountain complexes on the three islands, i.e. three on Sumatra, 16 on Java, and one on Bali. Although the Pink-headed Fruit-dove is found in scattered, ever-shrinking forest blocks of mostly <200 km2, the scarcity of recent field records is more than likely due its inconspicuous behaviour, and a threatened status is unwarranted as yet