Wonga Pigeon

Leucosarcia melanoleuca

Doves and Pigeons · Columbiformes · Uncommon

The Wonga Pigeon (Leucosarcia melanoleuca) is a uncommon doves and pigeon found only in Australia, weighing about 429 g. The wonga pigeon or wonga wonga is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia.

Least ConcernUncommonEndemicEats omnivoreforestplatform nest429 g

About the Wonga Pigeon

The wonga pigeon or wonga wonga is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

The wonga pigeon is a large, plump pigeon that has a short neck, broad wings, and a long tail. Its length varies from 38 to 40 centimetres (15.2 to 16 inches). It has pastel blue-grey back feathers. The head fades to a creamy-white colour. The underside is white with dotted dark grey spots such that a white V can be seen on its chest. Their eyes are a dark red-brown colour and they have pink eye-rings that encircle them. Legs are red and the sexes appear identical but immature pigeons are browner with a less distinct V pattern. Voice: The call of the wonga pigeon is a loud, high-pitched 'coo' repeated over long periods of time for a number of seconds. When males are displaying mating, bowing occurs with a soft, trilling coo.

Where it lives

When to see it

The Wonga Pigeon can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Wonga Pigeon?
The wonga pigeon is a large, plump pigeon that has a short neck, broad wings, and a long tail. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Wonga Pigeon?
The Wonga Pigeon is a large sized bird weighing about 429 g.
Where can you see a Wonga Pigeon?
The Wonga Pigeon is endemic to Australia, which is the only country where it occurs.
What birds look similar to a Wonga Pigeon?
The Wonga Pigeon is most easily confused with the Grey-fronted Dove, the Green Imperial Pigeon and the African Green Pigeon.
Is the Wonga Pigeon endangered?
The Wonga Pigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Wonga Pigeon for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

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