Columba leucomela
The striking White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela) is a medium-sized pigeon, typically measuring 38-42 cm (15-17 inches) in length and weighing between 300-450 grams (10.5-16 oz). Its most distinctive feature is the gleaming white head, neck, and upper breast, contrasting sharply with its dark, iridescent purplish-grey body plumage. Adults also display a vibrant red bill with a pale tip and characteristic reddish skin around the eye. This monotypic species belongs to the family Columbidae, ...
This species primarily inhabits subtropical and tropical rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, and dense coastal scrubs, often found in areas with abundant fruit-bearing trees. It generally occurs from sea level up to around 1000 meters in elevation.
Predominantly frugivorous, the White-headed Pigeon consumes a variety of fruits and berries, particularly favoring figs, laurels, and palm fruits. It forages both arboreally, plucking ripe fruits directly from trees, and terrestrially, by picking up fallen fruits from the forest floor.
White-headed Pigeons are largely diurnal, engaging in foraging activities primarily during the early morning and late afternoon, and roosting communally or solitarily in dense tree canopies at night. Their foraging strategy involves plucking fruits directly from trees and shrubs, occasionally des...
The White-headed Pigeon is endemic to eastern Australia, with its primary distribution stretching along the coastal and subcoastal regions from the tip of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland southwards through New South Wales, extending rarely into northeastern Victoria. It is a resident, non-m...
Least Concern
- The White-headed Pigeon is one of the few pigeon species globally with such a striking, entirely white head contrasting with a dark body. - Its diet makes it an essential seed disperser for rainforest trees, contributing significantly to forest regeneration. - Despite its relatively large size,...