Red breasted crowned pigeon
| Red breasted crowned pigeon | ||||||||||
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Red breasted crowned pigeon |
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| Goura scheepmakeri | ||||||||||
| Finsch , 1876 |
The red-breasted crowned pigeon ( Goura scheepmakeri ), also called chestnut breasted crowned pigeon , is one of the largest representatives of the pigeon family (Columbidae) with a body length of 66–74 centimeters and a total weight of 2.5 kilograms . It occurs only in a small area in New Guinea .
The species is classified as endangered ( vulnerable ) by the IUCN . No subspecies are distinguished.
features
The red breasted crowned pigeon is, like all crowned pigeons, an almost turkey-sized, compact pigeon. As is characteristic of the crowned pigeon genus , the tail plumage of the red breasted crowned pigeon also consists of 16 feathers, the tail is rounded. She does not have a pruris or gallbladder. There is no sexual dimorphism , the males are only slightly larger than the females.
The forehead, the crown and the neck are blue-gray, the feathers from the center of the crown to the nape are greatly elongated and form a flat, filigree feather hood. The feathers of the reins and the feathers around the eyes are blackish to dark blue-gray and thus form a face mask. The rear neck is dark blue-gray and turns into a slate-colored coat. The small wing coverts are dark blue-gray with maroon edges. The feathers of the large wing-coverts, on the other hand, are whitish and have a large purple to chestnut-brown spot on the tip of the outer vane and a small patch of the same color on the inner vane. This creates the eye-catching white mirror on the wings. The back is blue-gray and turns into a darker, in some individuals almost black rump and upper tail-coverts. The tail plumage is dark blue-gray with a light gray end band.
The chin, throat and ear covers are blue-gray and merge into a darker blue-gray tone at the upper neck. The chest is maroon. The belly, the rump and the thighs are dark blue-gray to black. The under tail-coverts are blue-gray or black, the tail plumage is blackish on the underside with a somewhat paler end band. The orbital ring is black-gray. The legs are orange and the toes are gray. The beak is also light blue.
distribution and habitat
The diurnal red-breasted crowned pigeon is only found in the southeastern part of the island of New Guinea . It inhabits the tropical rainforests there.
Way of life
Red-breasted crowned pigeons live mainly on the ground, but tree to rest and also build their nests in trees. The sociable animals live in small flocks, which usually include three to seven individuals. Occasionally, flocks of up to 30 red-breasted crowned pigeons have also been observed. They move slowly on the ground with a characteristic rocking tail. Compared to other birds and living beings, they impress by the fact that their wings are raised.
They look for their food such as berries, other fruits or windfalls on the forest floor during the day. They spend the night together in the canopy of tall trees. In case of danger, they fly up and flee into the trees. Life expectancy is approx. 7 years.
Reproduction
In captivity, the female lays an egg for the first time at the age of 15 months. The chick is looked after by both parents for several months. The birds lay their nests on trees at a height of about 15 meters.
Danger
This species is seriously threatened in its population due to the loss of its habitat, logging, illegal hunting and as a collector's item for bird lovers. To protect the species, scientific studies have been started in their habitat in order to coordinate protected areas and other specific protective measures. This species has also been successfully bred in various zoos.
attitude
Crowned pigeons were probably first introduced to the Netherlands at the end of the 17th century. The red-breasted crowned pigeon was first successfully bred at London Zoo in 1903, around 50 years later than the closely related crowned pigeon ( G. cristata ), which was bred simultaneously in the zoological gardens in London, Rotterdam and Paris as early as 1850. The red-breasted crowned pigeon is no longer kept in a European zoo, but the Sclaters red-breasted crowned pigeon , which is now classified as a separate species, can often be seen in zoological gardens: crowned pigeons are very well tolerated, so that several pairs are kept in large facilities such as tropical halls can and can be socialized with other, even smaller birds.
As for the other two crowned pigeon species, there is also a European conservation breeding program for the red breasted crowned pigeon .
literature
- David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes and John Cox: Pigeons and Doves - A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World . Pica Press, Sussex 2001, ISBN 90-74345-26-3 .
- W. Grummt, H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds . Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2 .
- David Burnie (Ed.), Mariele Radmacher-Martens: Animals: The large picture encyclopedia with over 2,000 species. Translated from the English by Gabriele Lehari. Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-8310-2232-8 , p. 316.
- Joseph Michael Forshaw (ed.), David Kirshner: Encyclopedia of the Wildlife: Birds. Translated from the English by Derek Vinyard. Orbis, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 978-3-572-01378-4 , p. 116.
- Heinz Sielmann: The great book of the animal world . Weltbild, Augsburg 1993, ISBN 3-89350-374-9 , pp. 64, 65.
- Wilhelm owner (ed.), Erna Mohr: Encyclopedia of the animals. Volume 2, Weltbild, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 978-3-89350-361-2 , p. 329.
- David Burnie: Fascination with the Wildlife . Neuer Honos Verlag, Cologne 2000 (German translation from English) ISBN 978-3829904780 , p. 195.
- Christopher M. Perrins : The Great Encyclopedia of Birds. From the English, Orbis-Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-572-00810-7 , p. 161.
- Gerhard Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free living, keeping and breeding. M. & H. Schaper Verlag, Alfeld-Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7944-0184-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World on the Rotbrust-Krontaube , accessed on October 18, 2017
- ↑ Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves , p. 580.
- ^ Gibbs, Barnes and Cox: Pigeons and Doves , p. 583.
- ↑ Rösler: The wild pigeons of the earth - free life, keeping and breeding . P. 315.
- ↑ Grummt, H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds . P. 345
- ↑ zoos Rotbrust-Krontaube
- ↑ Sclater's Red-breasted Crowned Pigeon Zoo
- ↑ Grummt, H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds . P. 344
Web links
- Goura scheepmakeri inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2017.