White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela)

Other Names (World)
White-headed Pigeon, Baldy Pigeon, Cook Pigeon, Bally Pigeon, White-headed Fruit-pigeon

Family
Columbidae (Pigeons, Doves)

Size
38 - 42 cm

First Described (Guide)
Temminck, 1821

Derivation
Col-um'-ba - L., columba, dove: leu-co-mela - L., leucos, white; L., melas, black

Abundance (Guide)
MC

Moderately common in north-eastern New South Wales, scarce elsewhere. Dispersive.

Habitat
Mainly rainforest, favouring the edges and regrowth areas, cleared land with abundant Camphor Laurel and suburban gardens.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B).

Eastern Australia, from Cooktown (Queensland) to Hunter R (New South Wales), in coastal regions and adjacent highlands.

Eastern Australia from about Cooktown, Qld south to about Sydney, NSW.

Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
Vulnerable.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
In pairs or small flocks.

Food
Native fruits and berries, seeds of bangalow and cabbage-tree palms and the berries of ink-weed.

Voice
A soft, high-low, 'whoo-wuk, whoo-wuk', the first half being loud, with emphasis on the resonant, musicval, 'oo'. The second half, 'wuk', being much softer and fading away.

(41Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (10)...)

White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela) [XC247343]
by Marc Anderson from Nightcap National Park (near Nightcap), New South Wales, Australia (call)

White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela) [XC143509]
by Marc Anderson from Way Way, New South Wales, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
March - October.

Nest
A scanty platform of sticks, usually in dense foliage in the horizontal branches of a jungle tree or in a tangle of vines, up to about 20 meters above the ground.

Eggs (Guide)
1; cream; ellipsoidal to oval; about 40 x 31 mm. Incubation: about 20 days; by both sexes.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 21 - 22 days.

Subspecies
Belongs to a superspecies of dark-coloured, iridescent Asian and Australasian forms, including Japanese Woodpigeon (Columba janthina) and Metallic Pigeon (Columba vitiensis), and the extinct Bonin Woodpigeon (Columba versicolor) and Ryukyu Woodpigeon (Columba jouyi). Yellow-legged Pigeon (Columba pallidiceps) may also be related. Most closely allied with Metallic Pigeon (Columba vitiensis). Long known as Columba norfolciensis, based only on a dubious description; however, an 18th century watercolour "discovered" in 1953 showed that this name actually applied to another bird that formerly occurred on Norfolk I, possibly Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica).

No subspecies.

Similar Species
Rock Dove (Columba livia) at a distance and when flying overhead.

Compare Images

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

JPG files for White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela) - 10 files

MP3 files for White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela) - 1 files

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