Bunbundoolooey, Pigeon Mother and Son

Overview

Parker identifies Bunbundoolooey as a pigeon mother who carries her infant in a goolay, a netted carrying hammock. Gathering edible grubs among wattle trees, she puts down the carrier and wanders away. The abandoned child learns to stand, walk and run, eventually becoming a grown man.

The mother remembers and retraces his progressively larger tracks. She finds his camp, weapons and painted opossum rugs, then joyfully recognises him. Her son silently kills her with a stone instead of accepting the reunion. The account combines pigeon naming with family life and human crafts; it supplies no intervening bird-to-human transformation scene.

Origins & earliest records

K. Langloh Parker, Australian Legendary Tales (London: David Nutt, 1896), The Bunbundoolooeys, pp. 52–54.

Records & interpretation

Complete selected English retelling inspected; Parker’s preface and 1896 title page checked.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Australian Legendary Tales: The Bunbundoolooeys, pp. 52–54

   K. Langloh Parker, collector and English reteller; individual storyteller unassigned · 1896

   Selected complete tale, not the whole collection, inspected.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary collected textParker 1896: The BunbundoolooeysResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.