Rare pigeon hatches at London zoo

Curator praises 'fantastic accomplishment' as bird team engineers breeding despite falling numbers worldwide

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 October 2009

RIGHT: The newly-hatched Victoria crowned pigeon is the very first of its kind to have been bred at London Zoo. Photograph: Zoological Society of London

It may be declining rapidly in the wild, but a colourful species known as the Victoria crowned pigeon is proving a welcome addition to the bird collection at London Zoo.

One of the rare breed, which sports cyan blue feathers, an auburn chest, tall plume and orange eyes, hatched last month and is the first of its kind to have been bred at the zoo.

It left the nest for the first time this week and has been exploring the surroundings of the Blackburn Pavilion exhibit.

The Victoria crowned pigeon, renowned for its dedicated parenting, mates for life with both parents continuing to care for chicks up to three months after they fly the nest. At present the chick – whose sex is still unknown – and its parents are the only examples of the species at the zoo.

The chick is only 20cm tall and eats fruit, grains and seeds, but will grow to 70cm – making the crowned pigeon, which originates from New Guinea, the largest members of the pigeon family. When fully grown, an adult specimen will be roughly the same height as a turkey.

"To breed the Victoria crowned pigeon is a fantastic accomplishment for our bird team, especially as this species is rapidly declining in the wild," said senior curator John Ellis.

"ZSL (Zoological Society of London) is part of a European breeding programme for this species, and our chick will help form a very important captive, back-up population."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/08/rare-pigeon-species-breed-zoo

See also: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6867165.ece