[3] It has a bluish-grey plumage with elaborate blue lacy crests, red iris and very deep maroon breast.

[4] Sclater's crowned pigeon was originally described by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori in 1876.

The specific epithet sclaterii was chosen to honour the English ornithologist Philip Sclater (1829–1913).

[5] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that Sclater's crowned pigeon was most closely related to the western crowned pigeon (Goura cristata).

[6] Being tame and heavily hunted for its meat and plumes, Sclater's crowned pigeon is evaluated as near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.