Family

Columbidae

Description

Medium-sized brown pigeon, very short legs, prefers walking, usually in pairs, flies with a loud explosion of wingbeats.

Habits

Live in pairs or parties of about 6 -20, keep stricly to the rocks or cliff faces, never perching in trees. Forage actively in early morning and late afternoon ,never moving far away from the sandstone. When feeding in a party they call to each other with a quiet double "coo".

Habitat

Stone Country, Sandstone hills usually near permanent water. It prefers to walk but flies when disturbed. Its wingbeats make a loud noise. These specialised birds spend the hot part of the day in the shade of overhanging ledges and caves but are capable of walking on very hot rocks. Their territories are quite small.

Notes

This bird is endemic to the West Arnhem Land Escarpment and only lives on sandstone. In this small area it is quite common. Its closest relative is the White-quilled Rock Pigeon of the Victoria River and the Kimberley region. Preyed on by Brown Goshawks

Breeding

March to November, 2 ; creamy white. Both sexes incubate the eggs for about 17 days. Young fly after 21 days. The nest is hidden on a shady ledge and is a flat bed of fine sticks and roots, often used year after year. The young chicks are able to fly at an early stage.

Parks

Kakadu National Park

Diet

Herbivore, Seeds of grasses and herbaceous plants - mostly spinifex. They will venture a few metres into open woodland to find speargrass seeds in the early dry season but quickly fly back to the safety of the sandstone if disturbed.

Details

Common Name: Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon Scientific Name: Petrophassa rufipennis
Sub Order: Order: Columbiformes
Class: Aves Category: Endemic
Status: Near Threatened Size: Medium pigeon

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