44 Australian Geographic
nutritious curd-like substance ensures
the blind youngsters grow quickly.
They can swallow large food without
difficulty within days of hatching.
My own birds belong to the
Szeged highflyer breed. At just 50mm
long and about a week old, the ‘squeak-
ers’ – as the young are known – can
swallow whole corn kernels. Three
weeks to a month of feeding by both
parents sees them fledged. This rapid
early growth is why city dwellers
rarely see a live baby pigeon. To the
untrained, youngsters and adults are
indistinguishable.
Another reason for their success lies
in the way they drink, which is differ-
ent from most other birds. Immersing
its beak, a pigeon sucks up water in the
same way a mammal does. This allows
it to get its fill quickly, making it less
vulnerable to predators.
Some species are called ‘rattlewings’
for the sound – perhaps an alarm –
they make when launching into full
flight. When taking off, the introduced
spotted turtledove rattles its wings and
flicks its tail from side to side, probably
to confuse birds of prey.
Pigeons and Doves in
Australia (CSIRO
Publishing, 2015),
written by ornithologist
Joseph Forshaw and
illustrated by William T.
Cooper, is available
now for $185. Turn to page 39 to read more
about the life and work of William T. Cooper,
who sadly passed away earlier this year.Chestnut-quilled
rock pigeon
Petrophassa rufipennis
Length: 31cm
This is a stone-country bird that
ranges across the western Arnhem
Land escarpment. A ground feeder, it
likes to gather in small groups around
water sources and areas of plentiful
food. Birds will disappear from one
locality to appear at another just a
few kilometres away. The species has
adapted to the fierce heat of the
stone country by nesting in crevices
where sunlight cannot reach.
Racing pigeons are known for their
amazing feats of endurance. And
anyone who has watched a common
bronzewing hurtle through a jarrah
forest at 60km/h, in Western
Australia’s south-west, cannot fail to
be amazed by its speed and agility. This
stamina is due in part to an unusual
respiratory system designed to keep
the bird’s body charged with oxygen
for maximum performance.
In the new book Pigeons and Doves in
Australia – from which William
Cooper’s stunning illustrations on
these pages are taken – Joseph Forshaw
writes that although illegal hunting has
largely ceased, habitat decline is of
ongoing great concern. In particular,
grazing, mining and fire regime
changes have caused dramatic altera-
tions to many habitats. Species that
nest on offshore islands are disadvan-
taged by alteration to rainforest feeding
grounds along mainland coasts.
Conversely, many species, including
the topknot and wompoo, have
included the fruit of the introduced
camphor laurel tree in their diets. This
has enabled a recovery in numbers andprovides the added advantage of
rendering the birds inedible by people
and some predators. Others have
taken to eating the fruits of weeds
such as lantana, while the crested
bronzewing (Columba lophotes) is now
among Australia’s most successful
birds. Its numbers, Joseph writes, have
“increased spectacularly in most parts
of their expanding range”.
Keep an eye out for our pigeons.
You’ll find them nesting in street trees,
in parks and gardens and on our older
buildings in the hearts of our CBDs.
Walking in rainforest or among native
figs in the Illawarra, listen for the
crashing sounds of topknot pigeons
moving among the branches. Be
grateful they are still with us. AG