Previously they could be found as far north as Cairns and as far south as the Dandenongs, but due to land clearance, shootings in the 1940s for crop protection, and fox predation, they are rarely seen in these areas, but their populations have improved.
Descriptionedit
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.
Diet and behaviouredit
They are very elusive birds, more often being heard but not seen, producing explosive wing claps when disturbed. They tend to occur on the ground foraging and are located in rainforests, wet eucalyptforests, coastal forests, picnic areas, walking tracks, car parks and gardens. Their diet consists of fruit, berries, seeds from native forest trees and the odd insect.
Calledit
The call of the wonga pigeon is a loud, high-pitched 'coo' repeated over long periods of time for a number of seconds.[3] When males are displaying mating, bowing occurs with a soft, trilling coo.
Breedingedit
The wonga pigeon is monogamous and breeds between October and January. It builds a twig platform nest with a diameter of about 30 centimetres, from about 3 to 20 metres above the ground, defended by breeding pairs. The pigeon will sometimes use abandoned nests from topknot pigeons or tawny frogmouths. Two eggs up to 4 centimetres long are normally laid.
Referencesedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leucosarcia melanoleuca.
^BirdLife International (2016). "Leucosarcia melanoleuca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22690727A93285451. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22690727A93285451.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^"Wonga Pigeon". Xeno Canto. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
The Wonga Pigeon: Breed Guide - Pigeonpedia
February 15, 2024
wonga, pigeon, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2022, learn,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Wonga pigeon news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The wonga pigeon or wonga wonga Leucosarcia melanoleuca is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland eastern Victoria Australia Wonga pigeonConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder ColumbiformesFamily ColumbidaeGenus LeucosarciaGould 1843Species L melanoleucaBinomial nameLeucosarcia melanoleuca Latham 1801 Synonyms 2 Leucosarcia picata Contents 1 Distribution and habitat 2 Description 3 Diet and behaviour 4 Call 5 Breeding 6 ReferencesDistribution and habitat editPreviously they could be found as far north as Cairns and as far south as the Dandenongs but due to land clearance shootings in the 1940s for crop protection and fox predation they are rarely seen in these areas but their populations have improved Description editThe 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 Diet and behaviour editThey are very elusive birds more often being heard but not seen producing explosive wing claps when disturbed They tend to occur on the ground foraging and are located in rainforests wet eucalypt forests coastal forests picnic areas walking tracks car parks and gardens Their diet consists of fruit berries seeds from native forest trees and the odd insect Call editThe call of the wonga pigeon is a loud high pitched coo repeated over long periods of time for a number of seconds 3 When males are displaying mating bowing occurs with a soft trilling coo Breeding editThe wonga pigeon is monogamous and breeds between October and January It builds a twig platform nest with a diameter of about 30 centimetres from about 3 to 20 metres above the ground defended by breeding pairs The pigeon will sometimes use abandoned nests from topknot pigeons or tawny frogmouths Two eggs up to 4 centimetres long are normally laid References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leucosarcia melanoleuca BirdLife International 2016 Leucosarcia melanoleuca IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22690727A93285451 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22690727A93285451 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Leucosarcia melanoleuca Avibase Wonga Pigeon Xeno Canto Retrieved 6 November 2018 The Wonga Pigeon Breed Guide Pigeonpedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wonga pigeon amp oldid 1193066788, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
