Jambu Fruit-Dove

Jambu Fruit-Dove

Ptilinopus jambu

Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Singapore

In 3 days <5%

114 Verified sightings at Singapore
50 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Jambu Fruit-Dove

The jambu fruit dove (Ramphiculus jambu) is a smallish colourful fruit dove. It is a resident breeding species in southern Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan, Sumatra and Java. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ptilinopus.

The jambu fruit dove was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other doves and pigeons in the genus Columba and coined the binomial name Columba jambu. Gmelin gave the locality as Java, he based his description on the "pooni-jamboo" that had been first described in 1783 by the Irish orientalist William Marsden in his book The History of Sumatra. Punai jambu is the Malay name for the species which William wrote comes from the colour of its head which is similar to the flower of the Malay rose apple (Eugenia malaccense) tree or known to him later as jambu merah; this word jambu was used as the bird's specific epithet. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

The jambu fruit dove was formerly placed in the genus Ptilinopus. A molecular genetic study published... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:36

Malaysia · 2024

© Greg Irving · XC920492 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
2 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
3 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
2 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Shedd Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Brookfield Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Detroit Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 Lincoln Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
6 Johor Zoo 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
7 National Aviary 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Jambu Fruit-Dove in Singapore?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Jambu Fruit-Dove sighting in Singapore on a given day, based on 114 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 187th most-seen of the 298 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Jambu Fruit-Dove in Singapore?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Jambu Fruit-Dove in Singapore on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Jambu Fruit-Dove?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jambu Fruit-Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Singapore the best place to see a Jambu Fruit-Dove?

Among the best

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Jambu Fruit-Dove sightings, Singapore ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Jambu Fruit-Dove live in Singapore?

Same family: Columbidae

The closest relatives of the Jambu Fruit-Dove that you can see in Singapore (family Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves) are Pearl-necked Dove (about 70%), Pink-necked Green-Pigeon (about 60%) and Zebra Dove (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Jambu Fruit-Dove sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Jambu Fruit-Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Singapore (114 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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