Part 64

Ptilinopus porphyraceus hernsheimi Ripley and Birckhead, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1192, 1942, p. 6 (Kusaie, Ebon); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Kusaie).

Geographic range.--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Ebon (extinct?).

Characters.--Adult: Resembles P. p. ponapensis, but occiput, nape, sides of head more gray and less greenish-yellow; chin and midthroat paler; crown coloring very faintly margined with yellow; tail band brighter yellow; under tail-coverts more orange; abdominal spot may be present as a brownish-red tinge; abdomen slightly more yellowish.

Immature: Resembles immature of P. p. ponapensis.

Measurements.--Measurements are listed in table 25. Ripley and Birckhead (1942:7) give the measurements of the only known specimen from Ebon (Marshall Islands) as: wing, 124; tail, 74; bill from base, 15.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 11 (6 males, 5 females), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 1 (Feb. 9); AMNH--Kusaie, 10 (Jan., Feb., March, April).

Remarks.--I am following Ripley and Birckhead (1942:6) in identifying the dove from Ebon Island as of the subspecies P. p. hernsheimi. This specimen from Ebon may, however, represent the final vestige of a formerly well-distributed population in the Marshall Islands. This distribution is of particular interest because it may show the pathway by which these small fruit pigeons invaded eastern Micronesia from Polynesia.

The small fruit dove at Kusaie has apparently the same habitat requirements as others of the species. Coultas (field notes) comments that in 1931 the birds were "quite common." He found them in the high trees on the mountain sides away from the native villages and gardens.

=Ptilinopus porphyraceus pelewensis= Hartlaub and Finsch

Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove

Ptilinopus pelewensis Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, p. 7. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

Ptilinopus pelewensis Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, p. 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 225 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 101 (Pelew); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 1, 1873, pl. 7, fig. 5 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 24 (Palau); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 37 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Palau); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 56 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 32 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 31 (Babeltop, Korror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 213 (Babelthuap, Koror).

Ptilonopus pelewensis Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1874, p. 94 (Pelew).

Ptilopus pelewensis Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 366 (Pelew); Elliot, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878, p. 531 (Palau); Schmeltz, Verhandl. Ver. nat. Unterhatlung Hamburg, 1877 (1879), p. 178 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 44 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1891, p. 584 (Pelew); idem, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 48 (Pelew); Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 86 (Pelew); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 736 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 354 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Pelew).

Ptilinopus porphyraceus pelewensis Ripley and Birckhead, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1192, 1942, p. 7 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 60 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo).

Geographic range.--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad, Anguar.

Characters.--Adult male: A green fruit pigeon with anterior lores and crown purple, margined with pale yellow; forehead paler than crown; chin and midthroat pale yellow; neck, sides of head, and breast greenish-gray, darker on occiput; feathers of upper breast cross-banded with partly concealed violet bands; abdomen orange, its lower part and region of vent yellow; sides greenish; tibia grayish; under tail-coverts near "Indian lake" with yellowish-orange edgings; upper parts green; wings metallic green, secondaries and primaries margined on outer webs with yellow; inner secondaries spotted with violet-blue near tips; under wing gray; upper side of tail green with pale yellow terminal band; under side of tail gray; bill lead-colored; feet dark blood-red.

Adult female: Resembles adult male, but upper parts greener with upper side of wing and upper tail-coverts washed with olivaceous-brown; breast duskier. Immature resembles adult, but lacks purple crown, violet breast spot, orange abdomen and maroon under tail-coverts; upper and lower parts margined with yellow; forehead pale green; supercillary stripe pale yellow.

P. p. pelewensis resembles P. p. ponapensis, but crown more purple; yellow tail-bar narrower; bifurcated, central breast feathers violet; abdomen orange; and under tail-coverts near "Indian lake".

Measurements.--Measurements are presented in table 25.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 14 (10 males, 4 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 3 (Nov. 14, Dec. 3)--Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 19)--Peleliu, 3 (Aug. 27, Sept. 1, 4)--Ngabad, 2 (Sept. 11)--Pelew, 2 (Mar. 1, 2); AMNH--Palau, 3 (Oct., Dec.).

Nesting.--At Ngabad Island on September 11, 1945, the NAMRU2 party found a nest in jungle in a low tree about six feet above the ground. It was loosely constructed and contained a single white egg, size 31 by 23 mm. Another nest was found at Ngabad the same day. It was on the branch of a tree approximately 20 feet from the ground. The nest was not examined other than to observe a parent bird on the nest. Three males obtained in August and in September had enlarged testes. Males taken in December by Coultas had enlarged testes.

Food Habits.--Stomachs examined by the NAMRU2 party contained fruit parts and seeds. This species seemingly obtains its foods from the large fruit-producing trees and to a lesser extent from the smaller shrubs or from ground berries.

Remarks.--P. p. pelewensis was found in small numbers at all islands visited in the southern Palaus by the NAMRU2 party in 1945. At Peleliu, the bird was restricted to undisturbed woodlands and thickets, although some were seen in the thickly growing vegetation covering over the battle areas. The bird evidently lives a solitary existence; it was only rarely observed in pairs. It was often located by its calls. Coultas (field notes) reports that in 1931 the species was becoming rare in the Palaus, owing to persistent hunting by the Japanese, who sold the bird for 25 sen each.

=Ptilinopus roseicapillus= (Lesson)

Marianas Fruit Dove

Columba roseicapilla Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 6, 1831, p. 472. (Type locality, Marianne Islands.)

Columba roseicapilla Lesson, Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., 2, Oiseaux, 1838, p. 278 (Mariannes).