Topknot Pigeon

1. Unique swept-back double crest: grey at the front, russet-brown behind

2. Broad pale band across the dark tail, especially visible in flight

3. Often seen in large, high-flying flocks in or near rainforest canopies

Topknot Pigeons are frugivores, feeding almost exclusively on rainforest fruits such as native figs, lilly pillies, palms, and also the fruit of introduced Camphor Laurel trees. They play a crucial role as seed dispersers, passing seeds intact through their digestive system. These pigeons are highly acrobatic while feeding, often hanging upside-down to reach fruit. Breeding is linked to the fruiting cycles of rainforest trees, with nests recorded from June to December. The nest is a platform of sticks built high in the canopy, usually with a single white egg. Both parents share incubation (about 17–24 days) and feeding duties, providing crop milk to the chick in early stages.

Topknot Pigeons are found along Australia’s eastern seaboard, from Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to the south coast of New South Wales, with occasional sightings in eastern Victoria and Tasmania. They inhabit rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, and nearby woodlands, especially in moist, sheltered gullies and along ridges. These pigeons are highly nomadic, moving in response to fruit availability and often flying long distances between feeding and roosting sites. They are most often seen high in fruiting canopy trees or flying in flocks at dawn and dusk.