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

[3] This species was first described by the German zoologist Otto Finsch who received a live bird from the dealer C. Scheepmaker in Amsterdam Zoo and named it after him.

[4] Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon was previously considered as conspecific with Sclater's crowned pigeon (Goura sclaterii) with the English name southern crowned-pigeon.

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

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