Great Birding Moments #5 Crested Pigeon
Crested Pigeon
Earlier this week while driving to the post office to post some letters, I saw about a dozen Crested Pigeons Ocyphaps lophotes sitting on a powerline. This is a relatively common sight here in my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia. I have seen loose flocks of 20-30 sitting in rows on power lines or on fences. On several occasions I have counted over 40, with 48 being the highest number in one spot.
Resident Breeding Species
The Crested Pigeon is a resident breeding species in our garden on our five acre block of land on the outskirts of Murray Bridge South Australia. On one occasion a pair nested only five metres from our house, in full view from the sun room where we often eat or sit and read or entertain visitors. The nest is a flimsy platform of small twigs. It is amazing how this poor excuse for a nest holds the eggs, let alone contain several growing chicks. But it is simply palatial compared to another common species around here. The nest of the Common Bronzewing Pigeon has so few twigs that I have been able to stand underneath one and count the eggs!
A bird on the move
The Crested Pigeon historically has been a species of the inland parts of Australia. In recent decades, however, it has spread steadily due in part to the increased availability of water on farms. It is very common in the parks and gardens of Adelaide and is increasingly reported in the metropolitan areas of Melbourne. In southern South Australia it was rarely seen in the south east districts, but I have seen it only a few kilometres from the coast near Mt Gambier.
Crested Pigeon
Habitat
It has been a bird of the rural areas of Australia, inhabiting grasslands, pastures, cropping areas, roadsides and farmyards. More recently it has become common in parks and gardens, golf and race courses, sporting grounds and other urban areas, even in our larger cities.
Common Name
I grew up in the Murray Mallee farming district in South Australia. Throughout this area – and in many other parts of Australia, this species is still called a Topknot, noting its erect crest. This confuses it with the Topknot Pigeon of the rainforests and woodlands of eastern Australia.
I must admit that this is one of my favourite species. It seems such an endearing bird and will allow a close approach to within a few metres if done without sudden movements, especially at the nest (which I try to avoid doing too often). Up close, with the sun on the feathers, one can fully appreciate the stunning beauty of the iridescent colours on the wings.
Crested Pigeon
Hi Trevor
What a wonderful website you have! I have a pair of crested pigeons living in my front porch, and today noticed that one of them has not moved from the nest all day. Is it the right time of year for them to have eggs? The pigeons are very friendly – they hang around our place because of the seeds in our pet rabbit’s mix I think – I often see the birds walking by the rabbit’s cage. What should I watch out for over the next few weeks, to make sure the nest is ok etc. I’ve put water our for them, and brushed the dog (golden retriever) too in case the birds want some fur to keep their nest warm! I’m keeping away from the nest itself though.
Thanks for your advice!
Liz
Hi there Liz – welcome to my blog about wild Australian birds.
Thank you too for your kind comments.
I think you can give your dog a rest – Crested Pigeons only use thin sticks for nesting material. In fact, sometimes their nest is so flimsy with so few sticks it is a wonder that the eggs actually stay in the nest. And how the babies cope without falling through beats me.
You can still put out the dog hair – the honeyeaters and Willie Wagtails will quickly appropriate it for lining their cosy nests.
hello trevor,
me and my friend have found a crested pigeon bird egg and we arn’t sure what to do,we cant seem to find the mother or the nest so we are keeping it warm but we just wanted to know if you knew how long the hatching period takes and what to feed it when its born thanks for the great web site!
beth and britt
Dear Trevor,
I found a baby crested dove under a tree at the back of our house, i checked the tree and mum was nesting, when she left the nest i checked and there was still one baby, I have kept baby warm now for 5 days and its eating fine and sleeping heaps, baby only seems a few days old, not sure if mum kicked baby out or it fell out, it poops regular and the colour seems right, I have checked a few websites for help to raise the little fellow. I can keep you informed of babys developments but hubby does not want me to try and put baby back in case mum rejects baby. Any help to keep baby going would be great. Thanks Suzy
Hi there Suzy,
Thanks for visiting my site and leaving your comments. If you look back through the comments section of this article you will find suggestions from many of my readers who have looked after Crested Pigeons.
Hey around our house we have about 10-strong colony of crested pigeons and we are in Carlingford in Sydney (near Parramatta) and we regularly give them millet which also get fed to our chickens…we have seen them go into the chicken cage and eat the chcken feed.
He around are house we have lots of crested pigeon and they eat in my house
l like crested pigeons because of the colour and l like when they fly to the air
l like crested pigeons because of the colour and l like when they fly to the air and came back to me
l have crested pigeons in st clair and they are my and they are strong and big
Have found a crested chick out of nest. Could not find nest. Has all feathers and is awake and aware, about the size pf my inner hand. How to feed? Thanks Dennis
I found one in my back yard two days ago that a group of carrawongs were attacking. It now has a broken leg and I am keeping it calm in a box with some seed and water. I am not sure what to do with it as it very quiet and lost quite a lot of feathers from the attack. Other than the leg it is ok. Please tell me what I should do and how to best look after it. I am scared my son will name it..then we have to keep it
.
I recommend taking it to a vet asap, preferably one that specialises in birds. While it is possible to care for birds with minor injuries, it sounds like its leg may be a bit to advanced for anyone without proper training to fix. Remember that many vets treat native animals free of charge. Hope this helps.
[...] recently had a rather interesting comment on an earlier post of mine about Crested Pigeons (see Great Birding Moments #5 Crested Pigeons). Karen [...]