Yes! This Pigeon Is Pink!

As regular readers know, from time to time, I do like to bring something different and I think this post really does fit that description, as it's about a pink pigeon!

Have you ever seen a pink pigeon before?

photo credit - Paignton Zoo

This rare pink pigeon baby has been hand-reared at Paignton Zoo, Devon, England.

If you are a fan of birds and the colour pink, (it's my favourite colour!) then this one is sure to put you in a flappy mood 😊

A zoo in the south of England has hand-reared a rare baby pink pigeon for the first time.

The species can only be found in the wild in Mauritius, a country in East Africa, but they are considered vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

It was once thought that their numbers in the wild were as low as nine in 1991, but since then they have been boosted thanks to conservation efforts like those seen at Paignton Zoo.

Tom Tooley, who works as a bird keeper at the zoo, came up with a special technique for hand-rearing baby birds that have been abandoned or orphaned by their parents.

He's been teaching this technique to others so they can help the rare birds too.

Tom says his technique allows the baby pigeons, which are known as squabs, to "naturally consume" their food.

People working for the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF), that help protect the country's threatened plants and birds including the pink pigeon, have been getting help from Tom since 2014.

Pink pigeons are herbivores and tend to eat buds, leaves, fruits and seeds.

Aside from the obvious difference in colour, they look quite similar to the pigeons you might see here in the UK.

When they are in flight, they make a call which sounds like 'hoo hoo'.

The adults tend to mate for life, with the females tending to lay two white eggs, which hatch two weeks later.

The species is part of a European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) which hopes to ensure the long-term survival of the species.

Words and image from story here

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Well I've never seen a pink pigeon but tend to see a lot of wood pigeons which is the UK's largest pigeon. It has a mauve chest, white nape and white wing patches that can help identify the bird in flight. It's very common in gardens, parks, woods and farmland.

You can read more about pigeons and doves of the UK here

Photo Credit - Robert Bannister

Do pigeons visit your garden? Perhaps you see them in your town. Have you been fortunate to see a pink pigeon? Do please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Thank you for visiting and reading this blog ...

All the best Jan