Birds of the World

Red-moustached Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus mercierii Scientific name definitions

Luis F. Baptista, Pepper W. Trail, and H. M. Horblit
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 1997

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Field Identification

21–23 cm. Plump and compact, with a short, nearly square tail. Cap and malar streak crimson red; head, neck and breast blue-grey; rest of underparts golden yellow; upperparts olive-green, tail tipped pale yellow. Female has grey parts more tinged with green. Juvenile lacks crimson on crown and malar streak, and has yellow edgings to feathers of upperparts. Race tristrami has less extensive red cap with yellow border behind; generally less greenish yellow.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

A member of the large P. purpuratus species-group, and most closely related to P. dupetithouarsii (which see); within the group, usually associated with the P. purpuratus subgroup. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

Nominate mercierii known only from the type specimen, collected during the Venus voyage of 1836–1839, and was not found during the 1922 Whitney Expedition (1); date of extinction estimated at 1849 (2). At least eleven specimens of race tristrami known, last of which collected by the Whitney Expedition in 1922 (1). The taxon was presumed extinct by middle of 20th century, and reports from Hiva Oa in 1980 (3) were apparently mistaken (4). Causes of extinction of these two taxa uncertain; introduction of Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus to Hiva Oa may have played a part, but introduction of rats and cats to both islands more likely to have been responsible.

Distribution

Formerly Marquesas Is. Extinct; last reported 1950

Habitat

Little information. A bird of the forest canopy; apparently more montane than the commoner, sympatric P. dupetithouarsii; found up to 1370 m.

Movement

No information.

Diet and Foraging

Frugivorous; diet reported to be similar to that of P. dupetithouarsii, with which sometimes seen feeding together.

Breeding

Birds collected in breeding condition in Jan and Nov.

EXTINCT. Had apparently disappeared from Nukuhiva by 1922; searches on Hivaoa in 1970s and mid-1980s failed to find it; reports of this species on Hivaoa in 1980 were probably result of misidentification of P. dupetithouarsii. Causes of decline uncertain; on Hivaoa, the presence of the introduced Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) may well have contributed to its demise.

Distribution of the Red-moustached Fruit-Dove - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Red-moustached Fruit-Dove

Recommended Citation

Baptista, L. F., P. W. Trail, and H. M. Horblit (2020). Red-moustached Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus mercierii), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rmfdov1.01
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