Our Victoria crowned pigeons hatched a chick on the 6^th June!  We currently have one pair at the zoo, Ozzy the male and Violet the female, you can see them and their older male chick Hugo, born in February 2013, in their aviary by penguin shores.

Single chicks such as this one are normal in this species and with the full attention of the parents the chick’s growth rate can be quite rapid, so it is not surprising that this chick has begun to fledge. This means that its wings have now developed enough for it to fly, joining mum, dad and other brother Hugo outside of the nest. If your lucky you may be able to see our new arrival sat on the edge of the nest exercising its wings and preening.

The IUCN red list state these birds as ‘near threatened’ with the population currently in decline. This is mainly due to their choice of habitat, lowland forests, particularly on the flat terrain are favoured by this species. However due to logging and the development of oil palm plantations these habitats are proving difficult to protect.

It is hoped that this pair will continue to breed successfully and help maintain the population of this species within the captive environment.

Find out how you could adopt one of our Victoria crowned pigeons here  

NB Photo is of previous chick.