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Crested Pigeons, colours of the Outback
This post describes two Crested Pigeons that I saw in the Flinders Ranges last month. We have Crested Pigeons on Australia’s east coast too, but I haven’t seen any here with colours as vibrant as the two further west.
This Crested Pigeon stands out on the red soil at Bendleby Ranges:
This one glows against the bright blue of the early morning sky at Wilpena Pound:
Common name: Crested Pigeon
Scientific name: Ocyphaps lophotes
Approximate length: 31-35 cm
Date spotted: 19-20 July 2026 (winter)
Location: Bendleby Ranges (32°21’13.7″S 138°47’34.8″E) and Wilpena Pound (31°31’36.5″S 138°36’11.6″E), Flinders Ranges, South Australia
Soft colours of the Crested Pigeon
A Crested Pigeon explores ground that was very recently underwater due to flooding. I like the lighting in this shot, and the way the pink of the uncovered roots echoes the colour of the bird’s feet:
The orange blush on the bird’s shoulders is a pretty accompaniment to the grey-blue of the head and breast feathers:
Common name: Crested Pigeon
Scientific name: Ocyphaps lophotes
Approximate length: 31-35 cm
Date spotted: 6 May 2024 (autumn)
Location: Manly Lagoon, New South Wales, Australia: 33°47’05.4″S 151°17’00.0″E
Crested Pigeon doing what pigeons do
This pretty little Crested Pigeon isn’t doing much. It’s pecking at food, as pigeons do. But I found the colouring of the scene attractive:
Common name: Crested Pigeon
Scientific name: Ocyphaps lophotes
Approximate length: 31-35 cm
Date spotted: 26 December 2019 (summer)
Location: Long Reef Headland, Collaroy, New South Wales, Australia: 33°44’37.0″S 151°18’20.2″E
Hybrid Spotted Turtle-Dove with Crested Pigeon?
Today I spotted a couple of interlopers in an area that’s the regular hangout for a group of Crested Pigeons. One of the interlopers looks like a regular Spotted Turtle-Dove. Here’s a Crested Pigeon on the left and the interloper on the right:
But nearby, on the same wire, is this rather interesting individual:
The bird looks like a Spotted Turtle-Dove but has a bit of feathery decoration on its head. Could it be a cross-breeding of a Spotted Turtle-Dove with a Crested Pigeon? Or is it just a Spotted Turtle-Dove having a bad hair day?
Here’s another pic of the same Crested Pigeon as in the first photo:
Crested Pigeons are native to Australia. When they take off, you hear the distinctive whistling noise from their wings that is characteristic of many pigeon types. When I first saw these birds, I thought how typical it is that even the common pigeons in Australia are different from those I’ve seen in other part of the world.
The group of birds later moved down to forage on the ground. Here’s one of the Crested Pigeons:
There was only one bird that looked like a Spotted Turtle-Dove with a vestigial crest. Here’s another pic of the same bird:
Spotted Turtle-Doves are not native to Australia. They were introduced in the late 1800s, and are seen as a pest in some regions of the country.
Pigeon or dove? The names “Crested Pigeon” and “Spotted Turtle-Dove” led me to wondering, not for the first time, what the difference is between a pigeon and a dove. I’ve asked various people over the years. Some say doves are white whereas pigeons are not. Other say that doves are smaller than pigeons. According to much of the internet, the two terms are interchangeable.
Here’s another view of the same bird with the miniscule crest (or perhaps it’s just a feather expressing its individual identity):
A wink, almost as if the bird knows that it’s presented me with a puzzle:
Spotted Turtle-Dove | Scientific name: Streptopelia chinensis | Approximate length: 30-32 cm
Crested Pigeon | Scientific name: Ocyphaps lophotes | Approximate length: 31-35 cm
Date spotted: 5 July 2019 (Winter)
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney Birder 