Skip to main content

Victoria Crowned Pigeon

I know I wrote about another pigeon just last week, but I read about these guys in a book yesterday and just had to learn more about them. Pigeon the size of a turkey you say? To the internet!

Image from MDH
The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is the largest living species of pigeon. They can stand over 70cm tall, and weigh up to 5lbs, with the males being slightly larger than the females. They are actually not the largest pigeons of all time, however. The extinct Dodo was a member of the pigeon family, and weighed over 40lbs! Victoria Crowned Pigeons sport beautiful blue and purple plumage, including a crest that the top of their head. Both the males and females display these dazzling colors and crests. They are named for both their crest, and for Britain's Queen Victoria. They are found in the dense forests of New Guinea and other small, surrounding islands.

Like many bird species, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon mates for life. A nest is built from twigs and leaves, and in it is laid one egg. Both parents incubate it until hatching after 4 weeks. The chick is naked and helpless, and is fed crop milk by both parents for the first few days before switching over to a regurgitated diet. They fledge after about a month, but will continue to stay with their parents for a few weeks longer. As mentioned in the Rock Pigeon post, Pigeons (and Flamingos) are unique birds in that they produce the aforementioned crop milk, which is a secretion not all that different from mammals milk, but is produced in a part of their throat.

Unfortunately, the Victoria Crowned Pigeons beautiful plumage has attracted unwanted human attention. They have been poached for their feathers, and have been snatched out of the wild for the illegal pet trade. Deforestation and hunting has also hurt their numbers, and they are now considered a vulnerable species.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed ...
Post a Comment
Read more