Goura cristata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%
The western crowned pigeon (Goura cristata), also known as the common crowned pigeon or blue crowned pigeon, is a large, blue-grey pigeon with blue lacy crests over the head and dark blue mask feathers around its eyes. Both sexes are almost similar but males are often larger than females. It is on average 70 cm (28 in) long and weighs 2.1 kg (4.6 lbs).
Along with its close and very similar-looking relatives the Victoria crowned pigeon, Sclater's crowned pigeon, and Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon, it is one of the largest members of the pigeon family. The western crowned pigeon is found in and is endemic to the lowland rainforests of northwestern New Guinea; the other species of crowned pigeon inhabit different regions of the island. The diet consists mainly of fruits and seeds.
Hunted for food and its plumes, it remains common only in remote areas. Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range and overhunting in some areas, the western crowned pigeon is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.
The western crowned pigeon was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Columba cristata. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the western crowned pigeon was most closely related to Sclater's crowned pigeon (Goura sclaterii). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Western Crowned-Pigeon sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 200 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June and September–October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Western Crowned-Pigeon in Raja Ampat on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April and November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Crowned-Pigeon sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Raja Ampat, in our data
Raja Ampat is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Western Crowned-Pigeon sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Columbidae
The closest relatives of the Western Crowned-Pigeon that you can see in Raja Ampat (family Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves) are Pinon Imperial-Pigeon (about 60%), Spice Imperial-Pigeon (about 40%) and Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Crowned-Pigeon is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (19 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.
