Fun Wonga Pigeon Facts For Kids

The wonga pigeon (Leucosarcia melanoleuca) is primarily found in Australia, mainly in eastern Australia. Land clearance and loss of habitat have been one of the many reasons due to which this species isn't found in the south anymore. These grey birds mainly prefer to live in sub-tropical areas where they can easily search for food from the ground itself. Their short broad wings compliment them with an incredible flight and also helps to pick fallen fruits and odd insects for food. The wonga pigeon feeds on a diverse range of diets and sometimes it can be seen for them to also feed on invertebrates. It is very common to sight these birds while you are on a picnic with your family as they are also referred to as ground-dwelling pigeons. Picnic areas, walking tracks are lush with these birds, gardens that are closer to forests also are paid visits by this bird.

It can be said that wonga pigeons have incredible survival skills. Taking into note the shooting from the year 1980 concerning crop protection, these birds were rarely seen anywhere. However, the wonga pigeon species emerged back in the east and today they have a much-improved population.

To know more such intriguing facts about different birds of the world, make sure to check out our articles on Nicobar pigeon and german nun pigeon.

What type of animal is a wonga pigeon?

Wonga pigeon, Leucosarcia melanoleuca, is a type of bird, belonging to the genus leucosarcia.

What class of animal does a wonga pigeon belong to?

As all the birds belong to the aves class, the wonga pigeon belongs to the aves class as well.

How many wonga pigeons are there in the world?

Pigeons and doves faced an incredibly unfortunate decline in their population, following the events of the '70s. Nevertheless, these birds today have a pretty healthy population across south-eastern Queensland and Victoria. The total numerical value of their pollution is not calculated yet. In the regions such as new south-wales, these birds happen to be living with a population of 4000-5000 birds.

Where does a wonga pigeon live?

If you are someone who lives in the city or near suburban areas, it's very common to sight these birds in picnic areas, walking tracks, and gardens. However, in the wild, this species is often seen in subtropical forests, dense coastal forests. When considering drier areas, these birds are often seen on nearby wet forested gullies. The east coast of Australia has remained to be the home for these pigeons with short wings since the '70s.

What is a wonga pigeon's habitat?

These pigeons search for their food from the ground and can be sighted walking under dense vegetation looking for seeds or fruits. Dense coastal areas and clearings near forests are ideal for these birds, supporting their natural diet for seeds and fruits are ideal wonga pigeon habitat conditions.

Who do wonga pigeons live with?

Pigeons and doves are often assumed to be living together as they have similar dietary habits. Thus it can be said that these pigeons live together with doves and parrots.

How long does a wonga pigeon live?

The wonga pigeon species, in general, live an incredibly long life. Some people even believe that these pigeons can live up to as much as 16 years in their natural habitat.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season for these birds takes place in October and January. This ground-dwelling pigeon is incredibly smart when constructing the nest for its young. The nest is often placed very high in trees, far from the predators, and is bowl-shaped. The interior of the nest is often lined with soft fabric while the exterior is made with sticks. A good platform of twigs and sticks is made to ensure the utmost safety for the eggs. Both doves and pigeons feed their young with breast milk. As incredible as it may sound, both males and females produce breast milk for their chicks, which is also called crop milk. The wonga pigeon sometimes also use old and abandoned nests for their breeding season. In some cases, an old nest from tawny frogmouth can also be utilized for a breeding season.

What is their conservation status?

Their status is Least Concern; the wonga pigeon range map extends all across the major regions of eastern Australia, implying a good population for these birds.

What do wonga pigeons look like?

These pigeons are large in the size, with a small head with dark red-brown colored eyes surrounded with beautiful pink eye-ring. Both sexes almost look similar and their eyes are dark in color for both males and females. This species has broad wings which often help in creating explosive wing claps during fights or scaring other birds. The tail often forms a distinctive V shape for the bird.

How cute are they?

These grey pigeons with small heads are incredibly cute. Young pigeons are browner than adult pigeons.

How do they communicate?

The calls of a grey wonga pigeon are the key to their communications. Their calls can even be heard from a distance of 0.62 mi (1 km), males often see trilling coos during the courtship period.

How big is a wonga pigeon?

Wonga pigeons are almost double in size compared to Meyer's parrot and weigh almost ten times more when evaluated against an Inca dove.

How fast can a wonga pigeon move?

This species is very accustomed to walking on land as they fulfill most of their diet from land. Thus, wonga pigeons can walk and move very fast when on land.

How much does a wonga pigeon weigh?

A healthy adult wonga pigeon weighs anywhere around 0.66-1.1 lb (0.3-0.5 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

One can either use their scientific name to address this pink eye ring with grey feathered bird or can simply call them wonga pigeons. Both sexes are addressed with the same name.

What would you call a baby wonga pigeon?

The young in this family of birds are not referred to with a different name. One can refer to them as nestlings.

What do they eat?

The wonga pigeon diet includes seeds, fruits, insects, and even small snails.

Are they dangerous?

No, generally doves and pigeons are not dangerous to humans in any possible way. Although, while guarding the nest, a wonga pigeon can be violent towards invaders.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, grey pigeons can be considered to be good pets as most times they are quiet. Nonetheless, few families might find them very loud because of their loud vocals.

Did you know...

This species is incredible in walking and running. They are highly terrestrial and can walk for long down close to undergrowth in search of food. Their bopping head and short tail look adorable as they walk through low branches.

Are wonga pigeons native to Australia?

Yes, wonga pigeons are native to Australia. This species used to live in the south before the land clearings, after which these pigeons became local to the east of Australia. Central Queensland to Gippsland and eastern Victoria are the primary homes for this species.

What noise does a wonga pigeon make?

Wonga pigeons make long and high-pitched calls, which are repeated over long periods of time. For breeding a soft, trilling 'coo' is made but in general, a long repeated 'coo' is made by these birds.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these pigeon guillemot and Eurasian collared dove facts for kids pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable wonga pigeons coloring pages.