Crowned Pigeons
The Crowned Pigeon is endemic to the island of New Guinea. There are four species of Crowned Pigeons:
Western crowned pigeon
Sclater's crowned pigeon
Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon
Victoria crowned pigeon
Today, we will be discussing the Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon.
Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon
German zoologist, Otto Finsch, named it after C. Scheepmaker after receiving it from him at the Amsterdam Zoo.
Visuals
Elaborate blue lacy crests
Red irises
A bluish-grey plumage
A deep maroon breast
It is on average, 70cm long and 2.25kg. Male and females look visually similar
Location
This pigeon is native to the lowland forests of Southeastern New Guinea and a few surrounding islands.
Habitat
It lives on the forest floor eating fallen fruit, seeds and snails
Breeding
Although visually similar, during courtship, the males will coo and bow for the female. Both parents incubate the egg for 28 to 30 days. Following that, the chick takes 30 days to fledge. Their lifespan can reach over 20 years.
Vulnerable
As it is heavily hunted for its meat and plumes, Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon is evaluated as Vulnerable. It is likely to be endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve.
Sources (information):
Photos:
Photos of Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon by Valerie Lee were taken at Jurong Bird Park, Singapore.
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