Superb Fruit-doves

After several years, the Symplocos trees are finally fruiting well again, and are attracting a number of birds.

Most Superb Fruit-doves seem to be nesting, so it is mainly the females, who are coming to feed during the day. The males grab a quick bite or three early in the mornings and late in the afternoons.

female Superb Fruit-dove, resting -they do a lot of that during short bouts of feeding!

There is also the odd juvenile:

Other birds like the small purple fruit, too. We’ve seen 9 species in the trees so far, including a Tooth-billed Bowerbird:

Scott Ritchie spent a couple of days wielding his impressive camera and published the following post, which he generously allowed me to print here, so do enjoy his superb images and witty and informative commentary:

The Hazelwood buffet is up and running! I was in one deck lead this past week trying to capture birds feeding on the white Hazlewood, Symplocos puberula. I really wanted to see the male Superb Fruit-dove with his astounding fruit-dove wardrobe. But he didn’t make an appearance. However, the female was very obliging. And I saw there were many other local birds who couldn’t resist all you can eat fruit at the Hazelwood Cafe.

It’s interesting to see how the female Superb Fruit-doves green with dark green with purple spot plumage matches the fruit and leaves of the Symplocos. This makes a lot of sense. It’s the female that feeds in broad daylight while the male sits on the nest. The Symplocos has its fruit exposed on the end of its branches. Green with purple dots. So the female superb is very well camouflaged, crawling around eating its fill of fruit. Making very slow, careful movements to avoid being seen. You never know when the goshawk will fly overhead.

Female Superb Fruit-dove perches atop the Symplocos

She is beautifully camouflaged, her dark green with purplish spots blending in with the fruiting Symplocos branches

She has to feed. She’s very exposed sitting right on top of the tree.

In rare moments when the sun came out, it really highlighted the beautiful colours on the female Superb Fruit-dove.

Give a girl a break!

She spent a lot of time sitting in the branches, carefully preening her feathers. It’s almost like a Ziploc baggie. Squeezing it and zip the feather plumes together.