11

Nicobar Pigeons are large pigeons. The plumage of the two sexes is identical. The head and its neck hackles are slate-grey. The front is dark-grey, with a hint of greenish/chestnut iridescence. The mantle is covered with mostly chestnut hackles with some green in them and dark-grey tips. The rest of the back is dark-grey. The very short tail is plain-white. The irises are yellowish-grey, while the bill is grey. Legs and feet are prominently scalloped greyish-pink, with more pinkish toes and yellow/orange talons.

The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org .

The global distribution of the Nicobar Pigeon is available HERE .

There are two extant races of Nicobar Pigeons. Nominate race "nicobarica" is found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, eastward through the Indonesian Archipelago, up to the Solomon Islands. Race "pelewensis" resides on Palau.

Nicobar Pigeons are very rare vagrants to Australia. Apart from one report of several birds from the Broome Bird Observatory and the Dampier Peninsula, WA, in April 2017, there is only one further sighting report, from Green Island NP, off the coast of QLD near Cairns, which was first reported in November 2023.

Nicobar Pigeons have a preference for dense forest, with fruiting trees.

Race "nicobarica"

We have not seen a Nicobar Pigeon in the wild yet. The photos by M. Eaton shown below are of a bird in captivity. All photographic information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.