Mystery solved!
We whipped out our handy copy of The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia (a must for every self-respecting Australian naturalist's bookshelf) and managed to find our fair-headed friends (pictured below) listed among the pigeon family, Columbidae livia.
The birds spotted in a suburban backyard a few weeks back were in fact White-Headed Pigeons, which are found all along Australia's east coast from northern Queensland to southern NSW.
They frequently travel in pairs and prefer tropical/rainforest areas and in particular loves the Camphor Laurel tree, and feeds on fruit in tree canopies and fallen grain.
Keep an ear out for their distinctive cry, which is loud and gruff sounding like "WHOO!" followed by a gruff inhalation sounding "uk" (repeated three times). Sometimes the call is a low "oom". Happy birding!
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