Rare bird pink dove

Today, the rare bird pink dove belongs to the endangered species of the pigeon family, and also continues to be one of the most unusual representatives of its species.

Pink dove

Area of ​​residence

You can meet a pink dove only in a limited area. It lives exclusively on the southern side of the Mauritius Island, located in the Indian Ocean, and on the eastern coast of the coral island of Egret, in the vicinity of many rare species of birds and mammals hidden from human eyes. The pink pigeon artificially migrated to the last aforementioned place of residence with the help of a person in order to preserve the species.

Historical background indicates Reunion Island among the early habitats of the pink pigeon.

Among the natural natural places of residence, which the pink dove chooses for itself, are evergreen forest territories located in mountainous areas, preserved in small quantities. When settling in such mountainous forest regions, the described winged species mainly prefer dense lianas, where for fresh greenery.

Outward features

The size of the pink dove reaches a length of 38 cm, while weighing not so much as an ordinary city bird of this family – from 0.32 to 0.35 kg.In addition to the main characteristics of the sizes, the description of the pink pigeon includes its distinctive features:

• of medium length the cervical part and the round shape of the small size of the head,
• dark gray or dark brown wings, while the color of the primary feathering is slightly darker than the rest,
• the tail section is fan-shaped, the tail is brown in color with a red tint,
• the beak is quite strong, slightly thickened towards the end, the base is light red, the tip is painted in pale pink,
• four-fingered e (one short, three long fingers) legs of a light red tone,
• eye iris is yellow dark, the ring around the eye is red.

Still, the main distinguishing feature of the pink dove Thanks to which the bird got its name, the main plumage is of a pale hue.

If you find photos showing a pink dove, then most of them will contain pictures of ordinary white doves, artificially painted in bright shades. A true pink dove with such a color has nothing like that. In a natural rare bird, the main color in the plumage is not contrasting.

Behavioral traits

The females and males of the pink dove emit their cries during the flight. If in females the voice looks like a soft sound with a muffled “x”, similar to “huhuu …”, then for males the timbre of the sounds made will be a little louder and often prolonged “cuckoo …”.

For a pink dove, flocking in small groups is preferable. For the period of breeding, they form pairs and begin to conduct territorial residence, actively protecting and protecting the occupied area from relatives.

By nature, the pink dove is a monogamous bird.

Places for bird nesting are selected already at the beginning of the mating season, which falls on August-September. At the same time, in captivity in zoos, a pink pigeon can extend its mating season year-round, but the peak in fertility occurs in the spring and summer.

The mating games of these pigeons begin with the courtship of the males for the pigeons. Birds walk around females with an elongated neck and a swollen goiter.

The nest of rare pigeons is built from thin branches, which is why it is often loose and fragile. The egg laying of the female has no more than 2 eggs with a white shell, incubation of which takes place for 14 days. At the same time, in the morning and at night, the female sits on the egg laying, and in the daytime – the male.

Growing chicks

The newborn chicks that appeared after 14 days are blind. Their body is covered with rare feathery feathers white during this period, cubs cannot feed on their own, therefore, during the first week of life, the chicks are fed by their parents. For the first 7 days, bird milk becomes the food of the pink pigeon chicks – the pigeon’s secret is a pasty state of white color, which is formed by the walls of goiter. This natural food produced by pigeons contains enough and necessary amount of proteins and fat components to ensure the growth of chicks.

The eyes of the chicks open 7 days after birth.

During the growth of the cubs, their parents begin to include solid food in their feed ration, reducing the production of poultry milk produced. Pigeon chicks go completely to adult feeding by 10 days of age.

A pink pigeon rises to the wing after 3-4 weeks, remaining in parental care for up to 7 weeks. The maturity of birds occurs at the age of one year and ends in males at 10-11 years old, in females – at 17-18 years old. The total lifespan of these rare pigeons is up to 20 years for males. Females live 5 years less.