It has a red forehead; greyish head, back and breast; and yellow belly patch and undertail coverts.

In 2005, the Mariana fruit dove was originally chosen as the official mascot of the 2006 Micronesian Games in Saipan.

A larger threat to the Mariana fruit dove has been the accidental introduction of the brown tree snake to Guam during World War II.

They are extinct on Guam since 1984 and the Mariana fruit dove is highly endangered on other islands in its range.

[4] Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range, small population size and invasive alien species, the Mariana fruit dove is evaluated as near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.