Ptilinopus superbus
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The superb fruit dove (Ptilinopus superbus), also known as the purple-crowned fruit dove (leading to easy confusion with the purple-capped fruit dove), is a medium-sized (22–24 cm long), colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae.
It is sexually dimorphic. Males are superbly coloured with a fiery orange nape, green ears, and a purple crown. The breast is grey, and divided from the abdomen by a wide, dark blue band. Their wings are olive green covered with dark spots, and the tail is tipped with white. Females are mostly green, with a white abdomen, blue wing tips, light blue breast, and a small, dark blue spot on the back of the head. Both sexes have yellow eyes and eye-rings. Despite its colourful plumage, the superb fruit dove is well-camouflaged amongst the rainforest foliage.
Native to Australasia, the superb fruit dove lives in the rainforests of New Guinea, Australia, Solomon Islands, the Philippines and Sulawesi of Indonesia. In Australia, it is found from southern New South Wales around the town of Moruya and extends further north, where it becomes more common to Cape York in Queensland. In some areas of its range, such as the New Guinean rainforest... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Barcelona Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | Chester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 6 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Royal Burgers' Zoo | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 8 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 11 | Aquarama Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Zoologischer Garten Halle | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | NaturoSpace | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 17 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 18 | Volière | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Superb Fruit-Dove sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 139th most-seen of the 200 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Superb Fruit-Dove in Raja Ampat on a given day, against under 5% in January and April–November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Superb Fruit-Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Superb Fruit-Dove sightings, Raja Ampat ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Daintree National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same genus: Ptilinopus
The closest relatives of the Superb Fruit-Dove that you can see in Raja Ampat (genus Ptilinopus, Typical Fruit Doves) are Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove (about 40%), Wompoo Fruit Dove (about 20%) and Beautiful Fruit-Dove (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Superb Fruit-Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (30 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
