Pigeons and Doves in Australia
Joseph M. Forshaw, illustrated by William T. Cooper

A highly illustrated volume depicting all thirty native species of pigeons and doves to be found in Australia.

Because of an almost universal familiarity with the Feral Pigeon, a domesticated form of the Rock Dove and possibly the most successful urban bird, pigeons and doves in the Order Columbiformes are one of the most easily recognised groups of birds. They are an ancient and very successful group with an almost worldwide distribution, being absent only from highest latitudes and highest altitudes, but are most strongly represented in tropical and subtropical regions, including Australia. In most species simple plumage patterns feature mainly grey and brown with black, white or dull reddish markings, but the highly colourful fruit-doves include some of the most beautiful of all birds.