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© Sedgwick County Zoo, credit: Mick Hilleary

Mauritius Pink Pigeon

Columba mayeri

Physical Characteristics

  • These pigeons have pale pink feathers, brown wings, a chestnut tail and a pinkish-red bill, legs and feet. They are about the same size as the city variety.
  • Approximate life span is estimated to be in the late teens.

Diet

  • Wild: fruit and leaves

Behavior

  • Feed and roost in small flocks
  • During breeding season monogamous pairs defend small territories
  • Both sexes involved with nest building, incubation and rearing of young
  • Clutch of 1 - 2 white eggs is incubated for 14 days

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: native evergreen dwarf upland forest
  • Distribution: the Black River Gorges area in the southwest region of the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean
  • Numbers: Wild: estimated 21 (1993)
  • Captive: over 220 (1996)
  • Status: Endangered, CITES Appendix II
    • introduction of non-native animals to the island that prey on the birds and their eggs
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