Another bird pack, this time with options for both a standard and animal pack - the
Pigeon Pack. The first four would be part of a standard pack - all of them are almost entirely ground based birds and function much like peacocks and pheasants.
1.
Victoria crowned pigeon - The obvious choice; the world's largest living pigeon species which lives entirely on the island of New Guinea; they are able to be kept in both walkthrough enclosures and tropical houses. They are Near Threatened in the wild.
2.
Mindanao bleeding heart dove - This Vulnerable species of pigeon is native only to Mindanao in the Philippines; although the Luzon species is more commonly kept, the Mindanao bleeding heart dove is by no means rare (50 zoos in Europe alone) and is more colourful.
3.
Blue headed quail dove - Although this Endangered species is only kept in captivity on its native Cuba, they are one of the most terrestrial living pigeons - as the name suggests, they behave more like a quail or partridge than a typical pigeon and very rarely fly.
4.
White naped pheasant pigeon - Although another New Guinean pigeon may seem like overkill, this is a species quite different from any other and would be able to mix very well with the Victoria crowned pigeon. This species is listed as Vulnerable in the wild.
If a standard pack was chosen, the theming should include some conservation theming surrounding extinct pigeons - the two most famous of these are the dodo and passenger pigeon.
If free-flying aviary birds come, then these would be my three primary choices for representing more flight-capable pigeon species.
5.
African green pigeon - This is the only non-threatened pigeon species on my list, chosen to act as a representative species for the African continent which has been kept in walkthrough aviaries with species including okapi and also adds a pleasing set of colours otherwise unrepresented here.
6.
Socorro dove - Currently the most threatened pigeon on Earth - this bird formerly lived on Socorro island off the coast of Mexico but is now Extinct in the Wild; many zoos are breeding them with the aim to return them once the island is made habitable again; this would also represent an arid species.
7.
Pink pigeon - To show the power of conservation success, the pink pigeon is a must - their population was as low as ten in 1991 but a hugely successful captive breeding programme has boosted their numbers to 470 by 2019; they are now listed as Vulnerable and are kept in 14 European zoos.
