The white-capped fruit dove (Ptilinopus dupetithouarsii), also called kuku locally, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae.

[2] The genus name Ptilinopus comes from the ancient Greek πτιλον (ptilon) and πους (pous), which means feathered feet.

The name dupetithouarsii honours French admiral and botanist Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars (1793-1864) who had for mission to take possession of the Marquesas Islands for France.

In fact, the two species occupied at least the Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka, and Hiva Oa islands together and shared similar ecological niches which made researchers hypothesize the possibility of a sympatric evolution (evolution occurring without a physical separation) event between the two species.

In fact, the volcanic activities that took place from 5 millions years ago to 4 million years ago on Nuku Hiva with the presence of calderas volcanoes, would have allowed the separation of the two species of birds while offering enough resources to support multiple species of fruit doves.

The white-capped fruit dove produces long and slow vocalizations at first that can accelerate and get shorter as the call goes on.

Many factors would explain this like the lower metabolic rates of fruit doves, the content of the crop milk and the single egg clutches.

The paleoecological data showed that endemism, body size and diet are important factors in the extinction risks of bird species.

For the future, further studies to assess wildlife management and conservation measures might be needed in order to keep the species away from extinction.

[14] On Tathuata island, the populations of white-capped fruit dove have been declining because of the introduction of the great horned owl.