other name
Forest Bronzewing

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DESCRIPTION

Male: Body length between 30 and 36cm. Crown purple-brown in colour with yellow-buff forehead. White line curves from bill along underside of eye. Neck and breast pink-grey. Pale fringes to feathers on upperparts of wings, forming a distinct scaly pattern. Underparts of wing are rufous with darker trailing edges. Bronzed fiery orange and green on upperpart of wing.

Female: Duller in colour than the male. Forehead grey-blue instead of yellow-buff, which emphasis the white strip under the eye. Underparts greyer and less colour on wings.

Juvenile: Duller in colour with no bronzed colouring on wings.

Voice: Normally silent. During breeding season the bird emits a low-pitched "oom", repeated at 3 second intervals.

The Common Bronzewing can be found throughout most of Australia, being absent from the top end of Queensland and in the dry Nullarbor desert of Western Australia. Its preferred habitat is forested and woodland areas, including areas of mallee, native cypress, acacia thickets, coastal tea-tree, banksias and heaths. The pigeon can breed all year in conditions that suit but more often from July to January. Nesting can be erratic; the nest being made as a scanty platform or a substantial saucer of twigs. Nests can be found high in trees or low to the ground and old nests of Magpies and Choughs are sometimes used. 2 eggs are usually laid. The Common Bronzewing is classified as common. It is a sedentary, locally nomadic bird, although it will travel for kilometres for water and cooler climates.