Meet The First Victoria Crowned Pigeon To Hatch At Milwaukee Co. Zoo

MILWAUKEE, WI — For now, this recently-hatched pigeon at the Milwaukee County Zoo may look a bit silly. But as it makes its way through the awkward phases of adolescence, it will eventually blossom into a unique feathered friend.

The Victoria-crowned pigeon now weighs in at around 2 pounds after hatching on Feb. 2, according to a news release from the zoo. Its sex remains unknown (and will later be discovered through a blood test), but it is the first of its kind to hatch at the zoo. Because of difficulty with the hatching, zoo staff helped to rear the chick.

Staff helped feed the chick with formula through a tube at first and worked their way up to pellets soaked in water added to gruel. Zookeepers are now training the bird to eat fruit and full pellets, the release said.

The birds are native to New Guinea and are the largest in the dove/pigeon family. The zoo notes that the species is listed as near threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

When grown, the birds form an elegant blue lacey crest with a maroon chest and red eyes alongside blueish grey feathers, the zoo said in a blog post. They get up to around 4.5 pounds in weight and can be nearly 28 inches long, the zoo said. When they mate, the male lets out a booming call.

During its upbringing, the pigeon stayed in a brooder box with a temperature of 82 degrees that fluctuated based on its needs. As its feathers came in, though, the chick was better able to regulate its temperature.