These wonderfully coloured doves are widespread in northern and eastern Australia from the Kimberley region of Western Australia through the Top End to Cape York and the Torres Strait and down to the mid-north coast of New South Wales, they also are found in Indonesia.
Their habitat is coastal tropical and sub-tropical forest particularly with thick vine growth and many fruiting native trees. Here they are fairly common but are shy and not easy to find amongst the dense foliage, being more often heard than seen, the photo was taken at the Big Dune surf reserve. They are listed as vulnerable in New South Wales with threats including forest clearing and fragmentation, logging and weeds destroying habitat.
They feed entirely on fruit from vines, shrubs, large trees and palms and are thought to be locally nomadic as they follow the ripening of fruits in the canopy, the fruit is swallowed whole. They feed singly or in pairs or small parties and take water from leaves or from dew not from the ground.
The sexes are similar with the female having lighter colours, the nest is a frail loosely woven cup of twigs and tendrils in a dense growth of vines in which a single egg is laid.