• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Most closely allied to C. vitiensis. Belongs to a group of dark-coloured, iridescent Asian and Australasian forms, including C. janthina, †C. versicolor, †C. jouyi and C. vitiensis; C. pallidiceps may also be related. Long known as C. norfolciensis, based only on a dubious description; however, an 18th century watercolour “discovered” in 1953 showed that this name more probably applied to another bird that occurred on Norfolk I at that time, possibly Chalcophaps longirostris; the name is almost certainly unidentifiable, and has now been formally suppressed (Dickinson and Remsen 2013, ICZN 2010, Schodde et al. 2007). Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	420 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,320,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	increasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	3.9 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as rather scarce, although locally common in New South Wales and northern Queensland (Gibbs et al. 2001). The population has increased since the 1940's, following earlier declines; there has been some expansion in the southern part of its range in recent years (del Hoyo. 1997).

Trend justification: The population has increased since the 1940's, following earlier declines; there has been some expansion in the southern part of its range in recent years (del Hoyo et al. 1997).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Australia	extant	native	yes	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	breeding
Altitude	0 - 1300 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: White-headed Pigeon Columba leucomela. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-headed-pigeon-columba-leucomela on 26/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 26/12/2024.