At 08:30 today I looked out the living room window to see what I took to be a Rock Dove perched in the depths of our White Cedar tree. As I was looking through a lace
curtain into foggy light and the chiaroscuro effected by autumn foliage, I stepped onto the front porch for a better view. Still thinking it was a Rock Dove I began to retreat from the morning chill when a little ornithological Beelzebub told me the jizz didn’t
quite fit. A second perusal indicated it seemed a touch too long and carried a bit too much embonpoint to be a Rock Dove despite taking into account that the plumage was fluffed out against the cold. Also, at first glance, I’d overlooked the red eye ring and
bill with its pale tip.
I checked about every 20 minutes and, by 11:00 when the sun broke through, the bird had flown. A check of field guides further convinced me it was a White-headed Pigeon,
the first one I’ve noticed in Belconnen. I’ve had two previous sightings both in trees along Frith Road, Black Mountain, behind CSIRO and ANBG.
John Layton
Holt
