The white-headed pigeon, Columba leucomela, is a large species of pigeon native to Australia.
It is known for its white head, which stands out sharply against its dark grey body and wings.
Origins of the White-Headed Pigeon
It is one of the native Australian pigeons.
It is considered to be part of the country’s natural biodiversity.
Early descriptions confused the white-headed pigeon with a bird thought to come from Norfolk Island.
It was named Columba leucomela by Coenraad Jacob Temminck (opens in new tab) in 1821. Its closest relative is thought to be the metallic pigeon, which does not occur on mainland Australia (its Lord Howe Island subspecies is extinct).
Vernacularly, it is known as the baldy pigeon.
Distribution And Habitat of the White-Headed Pigeon
The white-headed pigeon is endemic to the eastern coast of Australia. It exists east of the Great Dividing Range from Cooktown in far north Queensland to the Illawarra district of southern New South Wales.
They are most abundant in coastal districts preferring a habitat of rainforest – lowland in the south and higher rainforest in the north.
Within these forest environments, the white-headed pigeon likes to inhabit areas that are covered with tall trees and dense canopies that are usually found along riverbanks. They can also be found in mangrove forests.
They are occasionally seen in urban gardens, parks with wooded areas and sometimes at roadsides.
The white-headed pigeon is considered to be a quite sedentary species, with the populations remaining in specific areas across the year. They will, however, undertake small local migrations to search for food and water when their environment forces them to.
White-Headed Pigeon Status
The white-headed pigeon is currently listed as being of ‘Least Concern (opens in new tab)’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The IUCN describes its population as increasing, and it has become more common in the south of its range.
Appearance of the White-Headed Pigeon
| Wingspan | Length | Weight | Coloring | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-Headed Pigeon | 70 – 80 cm | 38 – 42 cm | 400 – 470 g | White head, neck, breast, and belly. The body is grey-black. |
| Average Feral Pigeon | 64 – 72 cm | 29 – 37 cm | 240 – 380 g | Bluish grey with some black |
The white-headed pigeon is a large species that has a dark grey body and wings and a broad, white-tipped tail.
Its back and wings have iridescent feathers with a purple or green sheen, stronger in males.
Its most distinctive feature is its white head, neck and breast which marks a sharp contrast to the rest of its body.
The neck and breast area sometimes have a greyish or pale orange tinge to the white.
Its eyes and the bare skin around them are reddish, and its legs and feet are pinkish-red.
The female’s white parts tend to be more greyish than white and young birds resemble females more than males.
Character
It is usually seen in pairs or small groups, sometimes of 15 or more.
When out of the forest, the white-headed pigeon is a low-altitude, high-speed flyer.
They follow a straight flight path but if they spot a predator or obstacle will swerve upwards and fly wildly and swiftly away with a furious beating of wings.
White-headed pigeons are wary and secretive. Instead of calling and flying off at once when they sense danger, they often sit silently and still in dense foliage, either on the forest floor or in a tree, to avoid being seen.
If it takes flight in response to a threat it will hurtle away with loud claps of its wings.
The soft plumage contains powdery down that helps with preening. Like many pigeons, it can also shed loose feathers when grabbed by a predator, which may help it escape.
This bird has a couple of distinct vocalisations.
Their main call is a drawn-out series of low-pitched coos used for various communications.
In breeding season, the call becomes a deeper, quavering coo-coo.
Mike FitzGerald
Upper Horseshoe Creek, Kyogle Council, New South Wales, Australia
2020-10-30
Diet of the White-Headed Pigeon
This is a fruit-eating species. In many areas, especially in New South Wales, its main food is now the fruit of the camphor laurel, an invasive tree from East Asia that was planted in Australia in the 1800s.
Where camphor laurel is common, they may feed on its fruit for much of the year.
Feeding flocks in fruiting trees can sometimes reach about 100 birds.
In pairs or smaller groups they also forage on the ground for fallen fruit and seeds. Besides camphor laurel, they eat figs, lilly pillies and other rainforest fruits.
White-Headed Pigeon Mating And Breeding
Breeding season for the white-headed pigeon is between July and March and the species forms monogamous pairs.
In courtship, the male bird will perform a spectacular, undulating flight above the forest canopy.
He will then land near to a female on a branch to give a display of bowing. He holds his body erect, inflates his throat and breast and then depresses his beak to the breast while inclining his body forward.
He’ll bow to an angle of 25 degrees from horizontal and at its lowest point emits a soft deep coo before returning to the upright position.
He bows several times, then stretches his neck, holds his head high and rapidly opens and closes his beak a few times.
Bowing displays are common in pigeons, but the details vary between species.
Once paired up, they will build a small platform nest of twigs and vines at anything from 3 to 20 meters off the ground.
Usually one cream-coloured egg is laid, occasionally two.
Eggs are incubated for up to 20 days and when hatched, the chicks are fed crop milk by both parents.
The chicks fledge after 20-25 days. They leave their parents but usually stay with the flock.
Pairs may raise more than one brood in a season.
Taking Care Of The White-Headed Pigeon
The best thing that can be done in terms of caring for this wild species is to respect and protect the environments that make their natural habitats.
If the rainforests of eastern Australia thrive, so will the white-headed pigeon.
Last updated 23 October 2026 · Types