About Ptilinopus superbus (Temminck, 1809)
This species, Ptilinopus superbus, is sexually dimorphic. Males have striking coloration: a fiery orange nape, green ear coverts, a purple crown, and a grey breast separated from the abdomen by a wide dark blue band. Their olive green wings are marked with dark spots, and their tail has a white tip. Females are mostly green, with a white abdomen, blue wing tips, a light blue breast, and a small dark blue spot on the back of the head. Both males and females have yellow eyes and yellow eye-rings. Even with its brightly colored plumage, the superb fruit dove is well-camouflaged when hidden among rainforest foliage. The superb fruit dove is native to Australasia, where it inhabits rainforests across New Guinea, Australia, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, and Sulawesi, Indonesia. In Australia, its range stretches from southern New South Wales near the town of Moruya northward to Cape York in Queensland, where the species becomes more common. Across its range, it is resident year-round in some areas, such as New Guinean rainforests. In more marginal or seasonal habitats like those found in Australia, flocks move around depending on the availability of food.
