The White-throated Pigeon (Columba vitiensis) has a prominent white or pale grey patch on its throat and commonly refers to two distinct species: the White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela) of Australia and the Metallic Pigeon (Columba vitiensis) found across the Southwest Pacific, which has an iridescent purple and green (or bronzy) sheenbody and wings – hence, Metallic Pigeon. Unusually, it can produce crop milk to feed its young – crop milk is a semi-solid, cottage cheese-like secretion produced in the crops (a pouch in the throat for storing food) of both male and female parent birds. It is extremely high in protein and fats, even more so than mammalian milk. The Metallic pigeon lives in tropical forests across eastern Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and surrounding islands in the southwest Pacific, including Fiji, Samoa, New Caledonia, and parts of Australasia.
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