Breeding the Cinnamon-headed Green Pigeon

Abstract

Little information has been recorded on this beautiful species of green pigeon that inhabits Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and surrounding is- 1 ands. As many fruit pigeons and doves, Cinnamon-headeds Treron fulvicolis are obviously sexually dimorphic with males having the cinnamon colored head and neck changing to greenish gold on the breast with reddish purple on the mantle and lesser wing coverts. The abdomen is yellowish green becoming gray green on the flanks. Outer wing coverts, secondaries and primaries are dark green edged in the bright yellow which is typical for this genus. Under tail coverts are light chestnut. Feet are dark pink with white nails. The female differs markedly and is completely lacking the cinnamon and chestnut colors. Head and crown are gray. Under tail coverts are white or yellowish white. Shades of olive and yellow green predominate on the rest of the body.Juvenile coloration is similar to the female.

Three males and two females were acquired in the early summer of 1993 from an importer in Florida. A few birds - and as far as I know the only others of this species that are in the country - from the same shipment were also sent to a zoo in Tennessee. After clearing quarantine, the newly acquired group was held in a large flight cage (6 ft. x 10 ft. x 8 ft.) with natural plantings. The birds were all housed together to encourage the successful formation of a strong pair bond between at least one pair of birds. There was full spectrum lighting above the flight as well as some natural light. The birds were kept on a 14L: 100 lighting regime. Daily diet includes a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables (papaya, grapes, apples, plantains, kiwi, melon, cooked yam, corn, peas and carrots) and Purina 'Nutri-blend'

 

Gold Pigeon pellets. Each bird receives approximately one half cup of the fruit/vegetable mix and Pigeon pellets ad lib. A calcium supplement is also added to the fruit/vegetable mix.

By early August all three of the males were vocalizing frequently and two of them were observed courting the females. In September one pair of birds was observed roosting together at night and spending much of the daylight hours in close proximity to each other. This pair was then introduced to a flight (of similar dimensions) where they were housed alone. After several unsuccessful attempts to 'agree' upon the best potential nest site - even when there was only one nest basket remaining in the flight - the male continued to try to build a nest in the furthest corner on a natural branch and the female favored the feeding platform. At this time the pair was moved to a smaller (2 ft. x 3 ft. x 4 ft.) cage suspended from the ceiling (I had had success breeding other fruit pigeon species in these cages). One potted plant was hung from the top of the cage to offer the birds some privacythis seems to make a significant difference in the behavior of the birds. Without the plant the birds tend to be much more flighty. Perches consisted of natural maple or oak of various sizes. The nest basket offered was 6 in. x 8 in. x 2 in. deep and made out of 1/2 in. hardware cloth. It was situated 8 in. from the top of the cage in the back center, behind the potted plant.

The male began courting the female two days after being moved to the smaller cage. He was especially vocal and active in the late morning. Twigs were offered for nest construction and the same day that they were offered the male began actively carrying the twigs to the nest basket. Complete nest construction took two days and was done

 

primarily by the male. When the nest had been completed, the birds both appeared to be more nervous when their cage was being serviced. In an attempt to alleviate this problem tennis-mesh was attached to the front upper half of their cage. The tennis-mesh seemed to help greatly and the birds seemed to be on track once again.

Two eggs were laid with a 48 hour interval between them. Even though the female remained in the nest with the first egg, she did not appear to be incubating it until the second day (the male did not incubate for the first 24 hours). Incubation was shared by both of the parent birds. The male would come to the nest at daybreak and relieve the female. She would leave the nest basket, fly to the feeding platform, defecate and begin feeding. She alternately feeds and roosts throughout the day, returning to the nest just before dusk. At this point the male eats and then roosts for the night within 10 in. of the nest. It is possible that the male consumes something prior to his daily incubation, but this was not reliably observed. I feel that it is worth mentioning that the male, on two occasions, was not relieved by the female and he incubated through the night. The following morning he was relieved by the female for approximately one hour - in which time he ate - then returned to the nestfortheremainderoftheday.

The eggs hatched on the 15th and 16th day after the appearance of the first egg lending further credence to the idea that true incubation does not begin until the day after the first egg is laid. 

 

PDF

References

Goodwin Derck. (1977). Pigeons and Doves of the World, Cornell University Press. pp. 301- 302

Mackinnon, John and Phillipps, Karen. (1993).

The Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali, Oxford University Press. p. 160.