This is a large pigeon (40 cm). The head is blue-grey but the elongated neck and nape feathers turn green and copper-coloured. The plumage on the sides and back is iridescent metallic green and blue-grey. The bill is the same blue-grey colour as the head. The tarsi are deep red and the claws are yellow. Today it is seen as the closest relative of the extinct dodo! It occurs on various island groups in southern Asia, including the Nicobar Islands, which gave it its name.