Macropygia phasianella
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The brown cuckoo-dove (Macropygia phasianella) is a dove in the genus Macropygia found in Australia from Weipa and Aurukun in the north to Bega in the south, and most inland at Atherton and Toowoomba. It is sometimes called the "brown pigeon" or "pheasant pigeon", but both terms are best avoided, as they can lead to confusion with the brown doves and the true pheasant pigeon. It was one of three new species defined when the slender-billed cuckoo-dove was split in 2016.
The brown cuckoo-dove was formally described in 1821 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck from a specimen collected near Port Jackson in New South Wales, Australia. He coined the binomial name Columba phasianella. The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin phasianus, meaning "pheasant". The brown cuckoo-dove is now placed in the genus Macropygia, which was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1837.
Three subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Healesville Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Woodland Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Australian Reptile Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Sea Life Sydney Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Wild Life Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Cuckoo-Dove sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 996 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to February
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Cuckoo-Dove in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March to June, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Cuckoo-Dove sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Brown Cuckoo-Dove sightings, Blue Mountains National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Lamington National Park (Australia, about 50%), Springbrook National Park (Australia, about 50%) and Daintree National Park (Australia, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Columbidae
The closest relatives of the Brown Cuckoo-Dove that you can see in Blue Mountains National Park (family Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves) are Common Bronzewing (about 10%), Wonga Pigeon (about 10%) and Crested Pigeon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Cuckoo-Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Blue Mountains National Park (996 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
