Dear scouler -
At 10:12 30/04/1998 +1000, you wrote:
>I have seen references in several sources to Superb Fruit-doves
>(Ptilinopus superbus) and Rose-crowned Fruit-doves (Ptilinopus regina)
>often flying into windows, glass doors and lighthouses. Any theories on
>why these species are so prone to such accidents?
Mention of lighthouses is suggestive. When living in Sabah (northern
Borneo) in a house facing out to sea, the occasional fruit-dove (or pitta)
would crash (presumably dazzled) into a lighted window at night. Either
seasonal migration, or responses to fruiting trees on offshore islands, may
have been the reason for the coastal movements - and at night to avoid
predators.
Cheers, Hugo.
Hugo Phillipps,
Birds Australia Conservation & Liaison,
Australian Bird Research Centre,
415 Riversdale Road,
Hawthorn East, VIC 3123, Australia.
Tel: (03) 9882 2622. Fax: (03) 9882 2677.
O/s: +61 3 9882 2622. Fax: +61 3 9882 2677.
Email: <>
Web Homepage: http://www.vicnet.net.au/~birdsaus/
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