Andrew:New Zealand Pigeon

This bird is special as they breed anytime of the year. The female lays one smooth white oval egg. If this egg is lost the female may lay another egg in the same nest. It takes 10 to 11 weeks for the young pigeon to leave the nest.

The incubation period of the egg is 29 to 30 days and is carefully watched over by both of the parents. Usually these birds devote a quarter of their daylight hours to eating. As these are purely herbivorous this is very surprising because the plants they eat do not provide much energy.

We saw this bird in a tree near to our house so dad and I decided to take a few photos. A feeding or roosting bird will usually fly from its perch circles around and either goes to its original position or it goes to a taller tree.

They are usually silent but it is described as a soft oooo when feeding or resting.

Both genders look the same.

I also have to say that it is very big for a pigeon. Take our Australian crested pigeons times that by three and that is roughly its size.

The photo at the bottom was when I caught it while it craned its head around to flake out dirt and clean its feathers, creating a funny headless pigeon effect.

I like this bird because it stands in the same spot for ages and then suddenly it starts cleaning feathers and cranes its head back, then it pops out suddenly.

So that is a New Zealand Pigeon for you.