Beautiful Bronzewing Pigeons
Common Bronzewing, Laratinga Wetlands
Common Bronzewing Pigeons are, on first appearance, a reasonably plain bird. It is only when one gets an individual sitting quietly in a sunny position that you get a full appreciation of the subtle and quite beautiful colours in the plumage of this species. This is what happened to me recently on a visit to the Laratinga Wetlands in Mt Barker, South Australia. I seem to recall seeing at least three birds on that visit; there may have been more that I didn’t see.
In my experience Common Bronzewings are very flighty, nervous birds and will fly off rapidly as you approach. This can make them sometimes hard to photograph in the bush. At Laratinga they have obviously become accustomed to the hundreds of local people and tourists who visit this site every day. Walkers, joggers, photographers and cyclists frequently use the many good paths around the dozen or so ponds making up the wetlands, so it is not surprising that the local bronzewings will tolerate a person coming to within a few metres.
The birds in today’s photos were only about three metres from me so I was able to get some close up shots. The early morning sun shining on their feathers shows off some of the beautiful colours.
Further reading:
- Laratinga wetlands – articles from my archives
- Bronzewing Pigeons at the Australian Reptile Park
- Flock Bronzewing Pigeon
- Speeding Bronzewing Pigeon
Common Bronzewing, Laratinga Wetlands
Common Bronzewing, Laratinga Wetlands
Common Bronzewing, Laratinga Wetlands