Brown pigeon in Sydney but not a Brown Cuckoo-Dove?

This lovely brown pigeon perched on a post at Pyrmont in Sydney. Does anyone know what type of pigeon it is?

Here’s a closeup of the bird:

It doesn’t look like a Brown Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia amboinensis) — the colouring isn’t quite right. This bird has a light-coloured beak and a light ring around its eye. Its chest plumage is as dark as the wings. Also, I don’t think its tail is long enough for a cuckoo-dove.

This picture shows the bird from a different angle, so that you can see its back, wings and tail:

Here’s a picture of the bird flying off:

Common name: Pigeon
Scientific name: Unknown
Date spotted: 21 December 2022 (summer)
Location: Pyrmont, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: 33°52’03.7″S 151°11’48.8″E

About Sarah Maddox

Technical writer, author and blogger in Sydney

Posted on 2022/12/23, in Birds, Dove, Pigeon and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.

  1. thank you for the article

  2. might just be a brown cuckoo-dove with natural variation?

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