Wonga Pigeon
Leucosarcia melanoleuca
Family: Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves, 25 species in Australia)
Size: 36-39 cm
Distribution: Within about 200 km of the coasts of NSW, South QLD, Eastern VIC
Status: Common
Habitat: Coastal, dense forests, scrubs, rainforests
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
The Wonga Pigeon is known for its "woop, woop, woop, woop, woop..." call, which can go for hours, almost without a break. In older times it was known for being good eating, and is one of the only (perhaps the only) pigeon with white meat.
The Wonga Pigeon is almost always seen on the ground and it is very shy, they are heard much more than they are seen.
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (2556 x 1779).
Photo: Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains NSW
Photo: Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains NSW
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.
Some Birdwatching Resources
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The Kamana Naturalist Training Program.The Kamana
program by Jon Young, founder of Wilderness Awareness School, is
an awesome correspondence course teaching naturalist knowledge of your area including birds and bird language. If you want to learn the birds and other animals so that you really feel that you know them, I highly recommend this course, which I am studying myself.
Read more about the Kamana Program
Click here to browse Kamana online shop
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Birdsong, Don Stap. Following one of the world's experts on birdsong from the woods of Martha's Vineyard to the tropical forests of Central America, Don Stap brings to life the quest to unravel an ancient mystery: Why do birds sing and what do their songs mean? We quickly discover that one question leads to another. Why does the chestnut-sided warbler sing one song before dawn and another after sunrise? Why does the brown thrasher have a repertoire of two thousand songs when the chipping sparrow has only one? And how is the hermit thrush able to sing a duet with itself, producing two sounds simultaneously to create its beautiful, flutelike melody?
Click here to purchase from Wilderness Awareness School $24.00 USD |
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