Spinifex Pigeon (Geophaps) [XC821271]
by Christopher Watson from Lake Argyle, Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, Western Australia, Australia (call, wind, people talking)
Spinifex Pigeon (Geophaps plumifera) [XC327264]
by nick talbot from Mount Zeil, Macdonnell Shire, Northern Territory, Australia (call)
Nest
A light depression in the ground, lined with grass, in the shelter of a clump of spinifex or a low bush.
Eggs (Guide)
2; glossy, cream; ellipsoidal; about 26 x 20 mm. Incubation: 16 - 17 days; by both sexes.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 8 days.
Subspecies
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
plumifera Gould, 1842 - Western Australia from Edgar Range through Kimberley region into western northern Territory, east to Top Springs.
ferruginea (Gould, 1865) - Western Australia, from De Grey R south to Gascoyne R and east to Carnarvon Range. Isolated population intergrades in western Kimberley (east to Camballin). Has occasionally been treated as separate species. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Rufous-bellied Spinifex Pigeon (Geophaps ferruginea).
leucogaster (Gould, 1867) - Central and eastern Australia from Petermann Ranges Neast to base of Cape York Peninsula, and from McArthur R and Banka Banka south to L Frome (east-central South Australia).
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
(12Kb) © ? (
BirdLife International Species Factsheet