The crested pigeon (''Ocyphaps lophotes'') is a
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
found widely throughout mainland
Australia except for the far northern
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
areas. Only two Australian pigeon species possess an erect crest, the crested pigeon and the
spinifex pigeon
The spinifex pigeon (''Geophaps plumifera''), also known as the plumed-pigeon or gannaway pigeon, is one of four endemic Australian bird species within the genus ''Geophaps''. It occurs within a broader group known as bronzewing pigeons. This sp ...
. The crested pigeon is the larger of the two species. The crested pigeon is sometimes referred to as a topknot pigeon, a common name shared with the reddish crested ''
Lopholaimus antarcticus'' of Eastern Australia.
Taxonomy
The species was described in 1822 by
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 ...
; it is the only species in the genus ''Ocyphaps'', established by
G.R. Gray in 1842. Two subspecies are recognized: ''O. l. lophotes'', the
nominate
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list.
Political office
In the ...
subspecies, occurring across the south of the continent; and ''O. l. whitlocki'', occurring in regions of the centre and north of Western Australia. The taxon was named for
F. Lawson Whitlock, who made important collections of bird specimens in those areas.
The species has also been placed as ''
Geophaps'', perhaps allied with ''
Geophaps plumifera''.
[Baptista, L.F., Trail, P.W., Horblit, H.M. & Boesman, P. (2018). Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/54193 on 21 July 2018).]
Common names for the species, aside from crested or topknot pigeon, characterise them as a
bronzewing or
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 ...
that is likewise distinguished by the crest.
Description
![Pigeon-Crested](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Pigeon-Crested.jpg)
The length of the crested pigeon varies from 30 to 34 cm (12 to 13.6 in). Colouration is grey with tinges of brown and green. It has a feathered but slender, black spike on top of the head. It runs with the crest erect. The periorbital skin is bright orange. Wings have black stripes and are bronzed, while the primary feathers have colourful areas of brown, purple, blue, and green.
Immature
Mature is the adjectival form of maturity, as immature is the adjectival form of immaturity, which have several meanings.
Mature or immature may also refer to:
* Mature, a character from ''The King of Fighters'' series
*"Mature 17+", a rating in ...
birds have duller colours with no bronzing on the wings. The birds can be normally seen in two sizes, they can be thin or plumped. It is almost impossible to tell if a crested pigeon is male or female, because they have the same plumage.
If startled, the crested pigeon takes to the air with a distinctive whistling 'call', the source of the noise can be attributed to the way the air rushes over a modified primary feather found on the wings.
Distribution and habitat
The Crested Pigeon is found in lightly wooded grasslands in both rural and urban areas, but they can also be seen at watercourses, homestead gardens,
pastoral areas,
sports ground
A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field.
For most sports t ...
s, and
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
courses. Their habitat has expanded rapidly since settlement has produced pastoral lands (previously they were only found in inland and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
). Foraging for grains, they have adapted to grain farming areas, often feeding on the noxious weed of
Echium plantagineum
''Echium plantagineum'', commonly known as purple viper's-bugloss or Patterson's curse, is a species of the genus ''Echium'' native to western and southern Europe (from southern England south to Iberia and east to the Crimea), northern Africa, a ...
.
Behaviour
Their most distinctive behaviour is the beating and
whistling
Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...
sound their wings make when they take off. This is most likely to draw the attention of
predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
s to birds on the wing, and away from any birds remaining on the ground, and as an alarm call to other pigeons.
When the birds land, their tails tilt upwards and the flight patterns are similar to those of the
spotted turtle dove. They can be highly social and tend to be seen in flocks of varying sizes. They are highly gregarious birds when in contact with humans.
Breeding
![Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) mating display](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Crested_Pigeon_%28Ocyphaps_lophotes%29_mating_display.jpg)
While they breed throughout the year, it is more common in the warmer months. Males approach females and begin an elaborate mating dance; they bob their bodies up and down, while opening and closing their wings like a fan with each bob. This is accompanied by a soft hooting which is timed with the bobbing. If the female is interested, she remains generally stationary as the male approaches, until copulation is attempted.
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 ...
ing usually occurs in
shrubs or
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s. Nests usually consist of a platform of twigs. They lay two oval, white, glossy
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 ...
s. The eggs usually hatch 3 weeks after they were laid. Both parents incubate the eggs.
References
* Pizzey and Knight, "Field Guide to the Birds of Australia", Angus & Robertson,
* Trounsen and Trounsen, "Australian Birds: A Concise Photographic Field Guide, Cameron House. .
External links
Birds in Backyards
{{Taxonbar, from=Q167857
Columbidae
Endemic birds of Australia
crested pigeon
The crested pigeon (''Ocyphaps lophotes'') is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for the far northern tropical areas. Only two Australian pigeon species possess an erect crest, the crested pigeon and the spinifex pigeon. The ...
crested pigeon
The crested pigeon (''Ocyphaps lophotes'') is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for the far northern tropical areas. Only two Australian pigeon species possess an erect crest, the crested pigeon and the spinifex pigeon. The ...
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