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Science/nature/environment

Cousin to the dodo

(13 Posts)
Elegran Sat 25-Nov-17 15:56:39

Encouraging endangered and vulnerable species isn't all pandas and rhinos.
Nicobar pigeon chick hatches - the closest relative to the dodo.

Eglantine21 Sat 25-Nov-17 17:01:26

Wow!! It looks like something out of Harry Potter smile

Cherrytree59 Sat 25-Nov-17 17:12:33

What a beauty.
Well done Edinburgh Zoo tchsmilen

Cherrytree59 Sat 25-Nov-17 17:13:49

Oops Where did the n come from?

baubles Sat 25-Nov-17 17:15:17

Fantastic!

Elegran Sat 25-Nov-17 17:23:45

Baby doesn't look as splendid as the parents yet!

lemongrove Sat 25-Nov-17 18:56:03

Never heard of this bird! lovely colours.tchsmile

Elegran Sat 25-Nov-17 21:07:52

Thee are more in the pigeon family than you might think, and some of them are much prettier than our grey town ones. The Victoria crowned pigeon is the biggest, and very showy. Sadly, those beautiful fan feathers have made it vulnerable to being hunted.
www.arkive.org/victoria-crowned-pigeon/goura-victoria/

Elegran Sat 25-Nov-17 21:08:31

There, not thee. An R got lost.

ninathenana Sun 26-Nov-17 09:05:22

Your right Eglantine smile

Nature at it's best.

Eloethan Sun 26-Nov-17 12:09:45

I hadn't heard of it before this news story. Isn't it beautiful.

The pink pigeon, which I believe is only found in Mauritius, was very rare and endangered in the 80's but following a conservation programme, whilst still uncommon, is not so at risk now.

Elegran Sun 26-Nov-17 12:27:20

I don't think the Mauritian pink pigeon is out of the woods yet. It still faces all kinds of threats - feral cats are one, what a lot of problems pussycats gone wild cause to other wildlife. Also only half the eggs laid by the pigeons hatch, and the small genetic pool is not good for the welfare of the species.

theconversation.com/how-a-genetic-rescue-mission-could-save-the-pink-pigeon-in-mauritius-75085

Elegran Sat 02-Dec-17 14:59:01

Another big flightless pigeon, the Rodrigues solitaire, is described in an article at
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42057143 It had a bony growth on its wing which it used to fight othe solitaires, but that was no use against the introduced rats and cats which ate its eggs and chicks. Apparently the Victoria Crowned Pigeon also has a growth on the wing-wrist (but smaller than that of the solitaire) that it uses for defence. I didn't known that.

The article was inspired by research for the radio documentary 'Can we revive extinct species like the Dodo?' CrowdScience was on the BBC World Service at 20.35 on Friday 1 December. You can download the CrowdScience Podcast to listen on demand at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04d42rc