Ocyphaps lophotes
Silhouette: Jarrad Barnes · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for the far northern tropical areas. Only two Australian pigeon species possess an erect crest, the crested pigeon and the spinifex pigeon. The crested pigeon is the larger of the two species. The crested pigeon is sometimes referred to as a topknot pigeon, a common name shared with the reddish crested Lopholaimus antarcticus of Eastern Australia.
The species was described in 1822 by Temminck; it is the only species in the genus Ocyphaps, established by G.R. Gray in 1842. The taxon was named for F. Lawson Whitlock, who made important collections of bird specimens in those areas.
The species has also been placed as Geophaps, perhaps allied with Geophaps plumifera. Common names for the species, aside from crested or topknot pigeon, characterise them as a bronzewing or dove that is likewise distinguished by the crest.
The length of the crested pigeon varies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 15 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Pigeon sighting in Cape Range on a given day, based on 107 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 84 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July–August and November
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Pigeon in Cape Range on a given day, against about 30% in January, March–April and September, the lowest months. February has too few records to rate.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested Pigeon sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Crested Pigeon sightings, Cape Range ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 70%), Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, about 50%) and Ningaloo Marine Park (Australia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crested Pigeon is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Range (107 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.
