The brown cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia phasianella'') is a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

in the genus ''

Macropygia ''Macropygia'' is a genus of bird in the pigeon and dove family Columbidae. The genus is one of three genera known as cuckoo-doves. They are long tailed, range between 27 and 45 cm in length and have brown plumage. The genus ranges from Ind ...

'' found in Australia from

Weipa Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is the largest town on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly invol ...

and

Aurukun Aurukun is a town and coastal locality in the Shire of Aurukun and the Shire of Cook in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is an Indigenous community. In the , the locality of Aurukun had a population of 1,269 people. Geography Aurukun is ...

in the north to Bega in the south, and most inland at Atherton and

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

. It is sometimes called the "brown pigeon" or "pheasant pigeon", but both terms are best avoided, as they can lead to confusion with the brown doves and the true

pheasant pigeon The pheasant pigeon (''Otidiphaps nobilis'') is a species of large terrestrial pigeon. It is the only species of the monotypic genus ''Otidiphaps''. The pheasant pigeon is found in the primary rainforests of New Guinea and nearby islands. It rang ...

. It was one of three new species defined when the

slender-billed cuckoo-dove The slender-billed cuckoo-dove (formerly ''Macropygia amboinensis'') was until recently the name of a species of bird in the family Columbidae. Its range covered Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. The binomial ''M ...

was split in 2016.

Taxonomy

The brown cuckoo-dove was formally described in 1821 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck from a specimen collected near

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. He coined the binomial name ''Columba phasianella''. The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin ''phasianus'', meaning "pheasant". The brown cuckoo-dove is now placed in the genus ''

'', which was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1837. Three subspecies are recognised: * ''M. p. quinkan'' Schodde, 1989 -

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

* ''M. p. robinsoni'' Mathews, 1912 -

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

* ''M. p. phasianella'' (

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temmin ...

, 1821) - East and Southeast Australia

Description

The brown cuckoo-dove is from in length. The feathers are a rich rusty-brown colour, and the short wings, long tail and back are darker. The males tend to have a slight rose/green colouration on their nape and neck. The call of this dove is a very loud "whoop-a whoop" with some differences depending on the subspecies involved. The brown cuckoo-dove inhabits rainforest, woodland, scrubland and rainforest regrowth areas. The doves can often be seen in pairs or groups. Its diet consists of

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

from both native plants and introduced

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

species. They can be nomadic, depending on the supplies of food. They tend to fly short distances and low to the ground with great strength. Breeding occurs in spring and summer. The

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

is a flat platform of sticks and vines, either in a fork of a tree or on top of a low tree. One, creamy white,

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

is laid.

References

Lamington National Park - Brown Cuckoo-Dove
* Pizzey and Knight, "Field Guide to the Birds of Australia", Angus & Robertson, {{Taxonbar, from=Q628225

brown cuckoo-dove The brown cuckoo-dove (''Macropygia phasianella'') is a dove in the genus ''Macropygia'' found in Australia from Weipa and Aurukun in the north to Bega in the south, and most inland at Atherton and Toowoomba. It is sometimes called the "brown ...

Birds of Queensland Birds of New South Wales Birds of Victoria (Australia) Endemic birds of Australia

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