NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-headed Fruit Dove
Ptilinopus eugeniae (Gould, 1856)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-headed fruit dove (Ptilinopus eugeniae) is a species of bird in the pigeon family, Columbidae. It was described by the English ornithologist John Gould in 1856, and the specific name eugeniae honours the French empress Eugénie de Montijo. Adults of the species have white heads, a purplish-red breast patch, a grey shoulder patch, olive-green upperparts, greenish underparts with a blue tinge, and a yellowish vent. Juveniles have green heads with the white restricted to the forehead and upper throat, a much smaller grey shoulder patch, and the red breast patch restricted to the centre of the breast.
The species is endemic to Makira and the nearby islands of Ugi and Malaupaina in Solomon Islands. It inhabits lowland, hill, and ridge forest, along with neighbouring agricultural areas, and is especially common in foothills. Its diet consists of small-seeded fruits and berries. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers it least concern. Although it can adapt to disturbed habitat, it is threatened by deforestation and habitat loss.
Wikipedia contributors, White-headed fruit dove; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:25:11.336821+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ptilinopus eugeniae (Gould, 1856)
- Name authority
- (Gould, 1856)
- Common name
- White-headed Fruit Dove
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ptilinopus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderColumbiformes
- familyColumbidae
- subfamilyRaphinae
- genusPtilinopus Swainson, 1825
- speciesPtilinopus eugeniae (Gould, 1856)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ptilinopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Orange-fronted Fruit DovePtilinopus aurantiifrons G. R. Gray, 1858 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Makatea Fruit DovePtilinopus chalcurus G. R. Gray, 1860 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Coroneted Fruit DovePtilinopus coronulatus G. R. Gray, 1858 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-naped Fruit DovePtilinopus dohertyi Rothschild, 1896 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-eared Fruit DovePtilinopus fischeri Brüggemann, 1876 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Carunculated Fruit DovePtilinopus granulifrons Hartert, 1898 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-bellied Fruit DovePtilinopus greyi Bonaparte, 1857 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rapa Fruit DovePtilinopus huttoni Finsch, 1874 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-headed Fruit DovePtilinopus hyogastrus (Temminck, 1824) | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange-bellied Fruit DovePtilinopus iozonus G. R. Gray, 1858 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jambu Fruit DovePtilinopus jambu (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Whistling Fruit DovePtilinopus layardi D. G. Elliot, 1878 | ColumbidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177314 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4Q7N4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.