Bronzewing pigeon

The bronzewing pigeons are a group of pigeons native to Australia which have distinctive iridescent wing patches that appear bronze or green-brown in dull light, but flash in many bright colours in the sun as the bird moves.

There are three species always known as "bronzewings" in the genus Phaps, and several broadly similar birds that also have the trademark wing patch to a more or less obvious degree. Bronzewings are ground feeders but capable of very fast flight. They tend to browse quietly until disturbed, then remain still, their earthy browns blending into the earth and leaf litter until the intruder approaches too closely, at which point the bronzewing takes off with an explosive burst of sudden wing clapping and feather noise, and disappears from sight within moments.