_Ptilinopus pelewensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1868, p. 7. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)
_Ptilinopus pelewensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1868, p. 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p.
225 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872,
pp. 89, 101 (Pelew); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 1, 1873, pl.
7, fig. 5 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5,
24 (Palau); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 37
(Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881,
p. 407 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Palau);
Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 56 (Pelew);
Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 32 (Pelew);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 (Palau); Peters,
Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 31 (Babeltop, Korror);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 213 (Babelthuap,
Koror).
_Ptilonopus pelewensis_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1874, p.
94 (Pelew).
_Ptilopus pelewensis_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 366
(Pelew); Elliot, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878, p. 531 (Palau);
Schmeltz, Verhandl. Ver. nat. Unterhatlung Hamburg, 1877 (1879),
p. 178 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 44 (Pelew);
Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1891, p. 584 (Pelew); _idem_, Abhandl. und Ber.
Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 48 (Pelew);
Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 86 (Pelew);
Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 736 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel,
1, 1913, p. 354 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p.
52 (Pelew).
_Ptilinopus porphyraceus pelewensis_ Ripley and Birckhead, Amer.
Mus. Novit., no. 1192, 1942, p. 7 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1948, p. 60 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo).
_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad, Anguar.
_Characters._--Adult male: A green fruit pigeon with anterior
lores and crown purple, margined with pale yellow; forehead paler
than crown; chin and midthroat pale yellow; neck, sides of head,
and breast greenish-gray, darker on occiput; feathers of upper
breast cross-banded with partly concealed violet bands; abdomen
orange, its lower part and region of vent yellow; sides greenish;
tibia grayish; under tail-coverts near "Indian lake" with
yellowish-orange edgings; upper parts green; wings metallic green,
secondaries and primaries margined on outer webs with yellow;
inner secondaries spotted with violet-blue near tips; under wing
gray; upper side of tail green with pale yellow terminal band;
under side of tail gray; bill lead-colored; feet dark blood-red.
Adult female: Resembles adult male, but upper parts greener with
upper side of wing and upper tail-coverts washed with
olivaceous-brown; breast duskier. Immature resembles adult, but
lacks purple crown, violet breast spot, orange abdomen and maroon
under tail-coverts; upper and lower parts margined with yellow;
forehead pale green; supercillary stripe pale yellow.
_P. p. pelewensis_ resembles _P. p. ponapensis_, but crown more
purple; yellow tail-bar narrower; bifurcated, central breast
feathers violet; abdomen orange; and under tail-coverts near
"Indian lake".
_Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 25.
_Specimens examined._--Total number, 14 (10 males, 4 females), as
follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 3 (Nov. 14, Dec. 3)--Garakayo,
1 (Sept. 19)--Peleliu, 3 (Aug. 27, Sept. 1, 4)--Ngabad, 2 (Sept.
11)--Pelew, 2 (Mar. 1, 2); AMNH--Palau, 3 (Oct., Dec.).
_Nesting._--At Ngabad Island on September 11, 1945, the NAMRU2
party found a nest in jungle in a low tree about six feet above the
ground. It was loosely constructed and contained a single white
egg, size 31 by 23 mm. Another nest was found at Ngabad the same
day. It was on the branch of a tree approximately 20 feet from the
ground. The nest was not examined other than to observe a parent
bird on the nest. Three males obtained in August and in September
had enlarged testes. Males taken in December by Coultas had
enlarged testes.
_Food Habits._--Stomachs examined by the NAMRU2 party contained
fruit parts and seeds. This species seemingly obtains its foods
from the large fruit-producing trees and to a lesser extent from
the smaller shrubs or from ground berries.
_Remarks._--_P. p. pelewensis_ was found in small numbers at all islands
visited in the southern Palaus by the NAMRU2 party in 1945. At Peleliu,
the bird was restricted to undisturbed woodlands and thickets, although
some were seen in the thickly growing vegetation covering over the
battle areas. The bird evidently lives a solitary existence; it was only
rarely observed in pairs. It was often located by its calls. Coultas
(field notes) reports that in 1931 the species was becoming rare in the
Palaus, owing to persistent hunting by the Japanese, who sold the bird
for 25 sen each.
=Ptilinopus roseicapillus= (Lesson)