Breed Of The Week - Victoria Crowned Pigeon Discussion

[TAWhatley]

The discussion thread regarding Victoria Crowned Pigeons is now open. Please enjoy these gorgeous birds. Here's a link to the article: Victoria Crowned Pigeon

Enjoy!

Terry

[Skyeking]

That is one beautiful bird, and I'm probably one of many who would LOVE to have one.

Great job!! Thank you so much for sharing this breed with us and your time spent on this project.

[Reti]

What a gorgeous bird.
I would also love to have one or two.
The baby is adorable.

Reti

[Maggie-NC]

Many thanks, Terry, for the information about this gorgeous pigeon. I would love to have some too! I loved the pictures of the parent and baby.

[TAWhatley]

Thanks for having a look/read ladies! Yes, that baby is just way too adorable .. what a darling little crest it has!

Terry

they look awesome and nice coverage of this bird , I wonder how well they fly thou and I dont mean as in loft flying I mean as in terms of being out in the wild

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by LokotaLoft

they look awesome and nice coverage of this bird , I wonder how well they fly thou and I dont mean as in loft flying I mean as in terms of being out in the wild

I certainly don't know the definitive answer, but from what I read while doing the article, I would venture a guess that they are not terrific in the flying category. It seems they like to roost in rather low shubbery or low in trees and also build their nests close to the ground or actually on the ground. I have in my mind's eye a Giant Runt or Hungarian Giant as something close in flying ability. Keep in mind that Victoria Crowned Pigeons weigh over five pounds .. about twice what a Runt or Hungarian weighs, and if they don't have the wing span and muscle power to handle that much weight, then they aren't going to fly well. Sort of like domestic ducks and geese .. their body size and weight is far too great for their wing span and strength.

Hopefully somebody does know the definitive answer or can find it and let us know. Thanks for reading, Lakota!

Terry

so Im guessing they are more like a pheasant then a pigeon which is also great cuz I do love those pheasants as well never had the room for them myself but always wished to someday as my mentor had them as well in the golden ,yellow and silver variety ... more of a large open pen type of bird where you can just sit and watch the beauty of them as they do what they do for hours on end I wonder if they have a specail sound or if they coo as the pigein does .. things that make you go hmmm hehe

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by LokotaLoft

so Im guessing they are more like a pheasant then a pigeon which is also great cuz I do love those pheasants as well never had the room for them myself but always wished to someday as my mentor had them as well in the golden ,yellow and silver variety ... more of a large open pen type of bird where you can just sit and watch the beauty of them as they do what they do for hours on end I wonder if they have a specail sound or if they coo as the pigein does .. things that make you go hmmm hehe

Given that the enclosure size for Victoria Crowned Pigeons is a MINIMUM of 10' x 20' for ONE pair I think you're pretty spot on! Also, there is a vocalization paragraph in the article .. they do sound different than other pigeons.

Terry

heres a nice link to some videos of this awesome bird but still have yet to find a link for its call
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/victo...goura-victoria
and one more link to some short videos that I think are sweet
http://www.arkive.org/victoria-crown.../video-09.html

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by LokotaLoft

still have yet to find a link for its call

Me either or I would have posted it! Hope you or someone can find one .. that fellow in the one link (Tony Brancato) is somebody I think I have actually met at some point .. he is a So Cal person ..

Terry

[bluecheck]

Only quibble -- it AIN'T a breed. It's a SPECIES. The Victoria Crown Pigeon is not a breed, breed is something bred by man. A species is something naturally selected and evolved. So the Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) is a species; racing homers, fantails, etc., are breeds.

And yeah, Tony lives locally. He's gotten rid of all his exotic doves and is back with pigeons, Danish Suabians and (soon) California Color Pigeons.

[cvarnon]

Originally Posted by LokotaLoft

so Im guessing they are more like a pheasant then a pigeon which is also great cuz I do love those pheasants as well.

They are pretty much like gigantic pigeons. I worked with a pair of these in one zoo, and a pair of blue crown pigeons in another. Pretty much the same bird. People at the zoo always called them peacocks...
They are pretty tough, and get defensive of their nests and area like any other pigeon. The difference is that these guys are big enough to really beat you up. They were always kind to me though.

I can't really say how much time they would spend off the ground in the wild, because it was hard to provide good perches for such a big pigeon. They were on the ground a lot, but they nested on perches.

The pair I worked with was terrible at raising chicks. They either didn't incubate, or killed or abandoned the chicks. They only raised one chick successfully. The keepers hand raised the last one. Sadly I wasn't there for that, thought I did get to see it recently. They fledge at about half the size of the adults, which is kind of weird for a pigeon. This last chick was even on the local news.

http://www.myfoxal.com/global/catego...autostart=true

If you like pheasants though... check out pheasant pigeons.
Its exactly like what it sounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheasant_Pigeon
I've only seen one, it was at that zoo, but after I had left... seems pretty cool though.

[PoppyFieldVet]

They are amazing, I saw a pair at a zoo in france. Stunning birds, would have loved to have seen them in the wild though.

[ThePoultryFarm]

They do fly, and pretty decently. They prefer to walk on the ground though. If they get really startled, usually they will fly about 20' up and perch in a tree. They are pretty awkaward on tree branches, a nice wide perch is best for them. They can walk/run pretty fast.
The going rate at this point is 2,000-2,500 per bird. If you want one, there is a 2-3 year waiting list with most breeders. Rarely ever will you find a pair for sale, it is easier to buy a single bird the first chance you get and then just actively look for one of the opposite sex. I would own a pair myself, but the largest insulated building I have is 10 X 16 ... just a hair too small