Posted September 21, 2020 in New Arrivals
Another chick hatches as our Victoria crowned pigeon family get ready to move to their new enclosure!
Our Victoria crowned pigeon pair have once again welcomed a new arrival! Hatching on the 25th August the latest arrival joins mum, Violet & dad, Ozzy who have previously welcomed 7 chicks with their 2019 offspring still with us.
Victoria crowned pigeons have a spectacular crest of lacy feathers on their heads, from which they get their name and are the largest pigeons in the world! They live in lowland forests and forage on the forest floor enjoying a diet of fallen fruit, berries, seeds and even the occasional snail! Males such as dad Ozzy, will usually court a female by bowing his head, wagging his tail feathers, and making a loud call. Once paired these pigeons will usually stay together for life, Ozzy and Violet are a very good example of this and have been a very successful breeding pair. A female, such as mum Violet, will lay a single egg which both mum and dad will incubate for around 30 days in nest.
As well as welcoming a new arrival, our family of pigeons will shortly be moving into a new home! In preparation for future development of Penguin Shores where our pigeons are currently housed nearby, they will be moving to what was previously known as ‘Butterfly Glade’, as we no longer holds butterfly species, but this area has been adapted for the pigeons and renamed ‘Feathers of the Forest’.
‘Feathers of the Forest’ offers a limited walk through enclosure offering visitors a fantastic view of this beautiful species which is now listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. We hope to move them soon once our latest arrival has fledged the nest!
