Hi, in the past few months I've seen a species of bird I wasn't familiar with in the centre of Bairnsdale VIC. I thought it looked like a large pigeon so I searched online this morning and feel sure it's a white-headed pigeon. It says online their habitat is from Cooktown QLD down to southern NSW so I don't know how common they are in East Gippsland VIC? I just know I'd never seen them before. I'd like help in positively ID'ing them.
I took a photo of one sitting on my TV antenna on 13th Nov 2016.
And I took a photo of another one on 11th May when it was sitting on an overhead power line out the front of my house early one morning. I think this pic clearly shows it as a white-headed pigeon. But the Nov 2016 photo isn't as clear. What does everyone think?
Definitley a White-headed Pigeon. Not sure of there range down there sorry.
Great catch, congrats. with global warming victoria is the new Cairns.
Thanks for the ID. I guess the species has moved further south (& people at my church tell me global warming is fake). The pigeon in the top photo looks greyer on the chest than the pigeon in the lower pic but I guess that's a gender difference.
I do hope none of your church's parishioners own beach front property, Donna.
My impression is that White-headed Pigeons are reported mostly by Birds In Backyarders from Queensland & NSW. This might be an indictation that they (the pigeons) prefer warmer climes. With the advent of climate change it would seem possible that the White-headed Pigeon would extend its range further south as conditions in places like Bairnsdale become more favorable for it, especially since its preferred habitat is rainforest.
I note that the recently published The Australian Bird Guide says "Range has expanded southwards in recent decades." It's reported that a similar process is occurring with the Australian Brush-turkey although I doubt that it has reached as far as Bairnsdale. Yet.