The Victoria crowned pigeon (''Goura victoria'') is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and red irises. It is part of a genus ( ''Goura'') of four unique, very large, ground-dwelling pigeons native to the New Guinea region. The bird may be easily recognized by the unique white tips on its crests and by its deep 'whooping' sounds made while calling. Its name commemorates the British monarch Queen Victoria.

Description

The Victoria crowned pigeon is a deep blue-grey colour with a small, black mask. Its feather crest (the signature feature of crowned pigeons other than their size) is conspicuously white-tipped. On the wing coverts is a row of feathers that are a paler blue-gray with maroon tips. These form a distinct wing bar. The chest is a deep purple-maroon color. As in all crowned pigeons, melanism has been observed. The other two crowned pigeons are somewhat superficially similar, but only the western crowned pigeon overlaps in range with the Victoria species. The

Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon (''Goura scheepmakeri'') is a large, terrestrial pigeon confined to the lowland forests of south eastern New Guinea. It has a bluish-grey plumage with elaborate blue lacy crests, red Iris (anatomy), iris and very deep ...

does not. In the western species, the crown is more scraggly and hair-like, the chest is a uniform blue-gray and not maroon, and a less distinct wing-bar is present. Both sexes are similar. This species is typically long. Some specimens may exceed a length of and a weight of . It is marginally larger than the two other crowned pigeons on average, at an mean of in adult body mass, thus is considered the largest surviving species of pigeon of Earth. The standard measurements among pigeons on mainland New Guinea are: the wing chord is , the tail is , the bill is and the unfeathered tarsus is . David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes & John Cox. "A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World". Yale University Press (2001), . Like other crowned pigeons, this species makes a loud clapping sound when it takes flight. The mating calls of this species are also similar to the other two species of crowned pigeons, consisting of a deep ''hoota-hoota-hoota-hoota-hoota'' sound. When defending their territories, these birds make a resounding ''whup-up, whup-up, whup-up'' call. Their contact call is a deep, muffled, and rather human-like ''ummm'' or ''hmmm''. The two subspecies of the Victoria crowned pigeon are ''G. v. beccarii'' found on the mainland of New Guinea and ''G. v. victoria'', the nominate race, found on the islands of Yapen, Biak and Supiori. The nominate subspecies is markedly smaller, with a wing chord measurement of , with less robust legs and feet and darker overall plumage. The nominate has a sparser crest with black on the wing coverts and right above the tail.

Habitat

The Victoria crowned pigeon is distributed in the lowland and swamp forests of northern New Guinea and surrounding islands. It usually occurs on areas that were former

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

s, including sago forests. Though typically found at or near sea level, occasionally birds of this species may venture up in the hills to an elevation up to about 3,000 feet. They fly from sea to tree every day.

Behavior

Like other crowned pigeons, the Victoria crowned pigeon is a gregarious species. They usually travel in pairs or small parties as they search for food. They walk with an unhurried gait along the forest floor. Their food typically consists of fallen fruit. Birds of this species in captivity are particularly fond of eating figs. Seeds and invertebrates may occasionally supplement the diet. When disturbed, these birds fly straight up into the canopy or a large horizontal branch of a large forest tree. After being disturbed, they may remain on their perch for a considerable time engaging in contact calls and flicking their tails. In the wild, this species tends to be shier than the western crowned pigeon, but can still occasionally be quietly approached. The males regularly engage in aggressive displays to establish dominance. In these interactions, the pigeons puff up their chests and repeatedly raise their wings as if preparing to strike their opponent. They also make short dashes at each other and may actually hit one another, but rarely make contact and can be completely peaceful towards other males outside of the early mating season.

Reproduction

Breeding peaks late in wet season and in the dry season. When the male displays for the female, he lowers his head down, stretches forward, and then rhythmically swings his head up and down while simultaneously wagging his fanned tail. Although the female does most direct brooding, both parents help raise the young. The female usually lays a single white egg in a well-built tree nest of stems, sticks, and palm leaves. In the weeks before she lays the egg, the male brings nesting material to the female. The egg is incubated around 30 days. The young leave the nest when they are still much smaller than their parents but are actively tended to for a total of 13 weeks.

Status

The Victoria crowned pigeon is now the most rarely occurring of the three crowned pigeon species in the wild, although it is the most widely kept species in captivity. Perhaps the most pressing threat to the species is continuing habitat loss due to logging. It now quite uncommon near human habitations because it is heavily hunted around them, particularly in areas where gun possession is prevalent. It can be quite tame and easily shot, though it now seems to be fearful of humans in the wild. Most hunting is for its plumes and meat. Trapping of pigeons to be kept alive for captive collections is now illegal but is still likely to be occurring. The Victoria crowned pigeon is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed in Appendix II of CITES.

Gallery

File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon Jurong.jpg File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon Goura victoria Head 2200px.jpg File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon closeup.jpg File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon Goura victoria Wings Spread 2236px.jpg File:VictoriaCrownedPigeon.jpg File:Victoria.crowned.pigeon.750pix.jpg, Victoria crowned pigeon at Bristol Zoo, Bristol, England File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon CentralPark Zoo.jpg, Victoria crowned pigeon at Central Park Zoo, NYC, New York File:Indonesia 1984 100r o.jpg, Victoria crowned pigeon in 100-rupiah banknote File:Victoria crowned pigeon closeup.JPG File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon 058.jpg File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon (7856589332).jpg File:Victoria Crowned Pigeon (24703160080).jpg

References

External links

* ARKive �
images and movies of the Victoria Crowned Pigeon ''(Goura victoria)''

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060210022659/http://www.rdb.or.id/detailbird.php?id=66 Red Data Book
Internationaldovesociety.com
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