White-headed Pigeon Columba leucomela Scientific name definitions

38–42 cm; c. 420 g. Head, neck, breast and belly white  , sometimes with buffy tinge, becoming slate grey on flanks, vent and undertail-coverts; upperparts slate black with metallic green or purple sheen to mantle  , rump, uppertail and secondary coverts; bill pale to dark red, with yellow-white tip; legs and feet pink-red. Female similar to male, but white areas mottled or smudged light grey. Juvenile similar to female, but with more defined grey cap, often more uniform and darker grey on underparts, contrasting with white of chin, throat and sides of neck; bill dark reddish brown, with white tip; legs and feet reddish grey.

E Australia, from Cooktown (Queensland) to Eden (New South Wales) and less frequently SE Victoria, in coastal regions and adjacent highlands.

Rain forest , gallery forest and sometimes open country with scattered forest patches. Most frequent at forest edge, and often in second growth. Inhabits cleared agricultural country with abundant camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) trees.

Nomadic, in response to fruit availability. Little detailed information, but species may disappear from an area for months, returning again when fruit is available. In some areas, moves into more open country in winter, to feed on introduced camphor laurels.

Feeds on fruits and seeds. Has a muscular gizzard capable of digesting hard seeds. Important plant families in the diet include Lauraceae (including the introduced camphor laurel), Euphorbiaceae, Rutaceae, Rhamnaceae and Myrtaceae. Feeds quietly alone or in small groups, from canopy to low understorey, and occasionally on the ground.

Camphor Laurel is a preferred food source locally, despite being an invasive alien. At Goolmangar, northern New South Wales, Australia, Camphor Laurel is consumed year-round, with buds, foliage, flowers, unripe fruits and ripe fruits all being taken as available, flocks of up to 100 gathering to feed below the trees on fallen fruits at times (4 Gosper, C. R. and Gosper, D. G. (2008). Foods of pigeons and doves in fragmented landscapes of subtropical Eastern Australia. Australian Field Ornithology. 25: 76–86. Close ).

Advertising call a double note repeated at intervals. The first note is an emphasized short hoot, the second a much fainter and fading hoot: “WhoOoh..huuuu”. At a distance, second note is hardly audible. During bowing display, a single low “coo” is uttered (5 Gibbs, D., E. Barnes, and J. Cox (2001). Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ). 

Season apparently extended, based on limited data. At least 2 successive broods are sometimes reared in the same nest. Nest is flimsy platform of twigs and vine tendrils, placed in thick foliage or among vine tangles, 2·5–20 m up. 1 white egg; incubation 19–20 days; on hatching, young is covered in rust-coloured down, and weighs c. 17 g; chick attains full juvenile plumage by 20 days; fledging c. 21–22 days.

Not globally threatened. Formerly shot in great numbers, species was protected from hunting in 1950s. Although never abundant, numbers appear to have increased since 1940s, following decline c. 1860–1900, during period of extensive clearance of rain forest; some range expansion has occured in S part of its range in recent years. Adapts to secondary forest and forest edge, and readily feeds on the introduced camphor laurel tree. The only population estimate available is of over 7000 birds for New South Wales.