This bird eats fruit directly from the tree, or from the ground if items have been dropped by hornbills or monkeys. Like other doves and unlike most birds, the Jambu Fruit Dove can put its entire bill into the water and drink by sucking it in.
Most birds can only dip part of their bill in water, so as not to submerge their nostrils and then have to tip their heads up to let the water trickle down their throats.
The male holds a breeding territory, advertised by raising its wings, bobbing its body and cooing. It will defend its territory with a quick peck if the territorial display fails.
The female builds a flimsy nest of twigs, roots and grasses, which are collected by her mate, in a tree and lays one or sometimes two white eggs which are incubated for about 20 days to hatching, with a further 12 or more days to fledging.
Both parents help in raising the hatchling. Within an hour of its birth, the helpless hatchling will be fed doves milk, a nutritious secretion that both parents make in their crops.
