Victoria Crowned Pigeon
The Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) is a huge, blue-gray pigeon of the lowland forests of New Guinea, crowned with a fan of lacy feathers. It is about the size of a turkey and is among the largest pigeons in the world.
The Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) is a huge, blue-gray pigeon of the lowland forests of New Guinea, crowned with a fan of lacy feathers. It is about the size of a turkey and is among the largest pigeons in the world.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Victoria Crowned Pigeon in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Reptilia lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Pigeon With a Crown
The delicate crest is tipped with white and is raised in courtship. Males bow and give deep booming calls, and pairs form lasting bonds. The birds forage on the forest floor for fallen fruit and seeds.
Milk From the Crop
Like all pigeons, both parents feed their single chick with crop milk, a nutritious secretion. The female lays just one egg at a time on a platform nest in a low tree.
Plumes and Pressure
The birds are hunted for their feathers and meat, and lose forest to logging, so crowned pigeons have declined. They are protected in many places. See Nicobar Pigeon.
Victoria Crowned Pigeon at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Goura victoria |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Columbiformes |
| Family | Columbidae |
| Field Guide group | Reptilia: Aves (Birds) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Turkey-sized blue-gray ground bird of New Guinea with a lacy fan crest of white-tipped plumes and a maroon chest. |
| IUCN Red List status | Near Threatened (NT), assessed 2021 |
| Family | Columbidae |
| Range | Lowland New Guinea |