Blue Crowned Pigeon Breeding Methods and Technical Key Points
Pigeons are a familiar bird in our daily lives, but the "queen" that the master is going to introduce is rarely seen; it is called the crowned pigeon. The Common Crowned Pigeon is the most beautiful member of the Columbidae order and also the largest species among pigeons and doves, almost as large as a turkey. The Common Crowned Pigeon is blue all over, with smooth and neat feathers. It has a white patch at the tail and under the wings respectively, and part of the middle of the wings to the front chest is slightly purple. Its red eyes are bright and piercing, the feathers around the eyes are darker in color, and there are small spots on the legs. Each foot of the Common Crowned Pigeon has 4 toes, 3 pointing forward and 1 pointing backward. The most eye-catching feature of the Common Crowned Pigeon is the upright light blue fan-shaped crest feathers on its head. Both males and females have this tuft of feathers, worn on the head like a crown. During the breeding season, this is an effective tool for courtship, and the Common Crowned Pigeon gets its name from this.
Crowned pigeons are divided into three species: the Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria), the Common Crowned Pigeon (Goura cristata), and Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon (Goura scheepmakeri). They are the most beautiful members of the Columbidae order, with a body length of 70-80 cm and a body weight of about 2-3 kg. Unlike other pigeons, their physiological characteristic is that crowned pigeons have 16 tail feathers rather than 12.
Living habits:
The Common Crowned Pigeon often inhabits forests or swampy areas near water, wandering in small groups to forage, with habits similar to those of pheasants. It mainly feeds on seeds of various plants, fruits, and insects. The breeding season of the Common Crowned Pigeon is in spring. During the breeding period, males and females spread their fan-shaped crest feathers to delight each other. The nest of the Common Crowned Pigeon is built in trees. The incubation period is 28—30 days, with 1 egg laid per clutch, the size of a pigeon egg, and milky white in color. The Common Crowned Pigeon is altricial, and the parent birds secrete pigeon milk to feed the chicks, which is also a relatively unique phenomenon among bird species. The young birds of the Common Crowned Pigeon live with their parents until the second year, when they begin to live independently. Because the feathers of the Common Crowned Pigeon are extremely precious and its meat is delicious, it was once hunted in large numbers and has now become a very rare bird. At present, zoos in our country keep only a small number of them, each valued at as much as 30,000 yuan.