Green-Naped Pheasant Pigeons

There are now fewer than 100 Green-naped pheasant pigeons left in captivity world-wide. Pandemonium received its first Green-naped pheasant pigeon pair many years ago. When the female died of a heart attack, her grieving mate cried for a long time. His vocalizations were so mournful that we had to do something. Only when we began the search for a mate did we realize how incredibly rare these birds are in captivity. Very little is known about this species in the wild. Green-naped pheasant pigeons are a subspecies of pheasant pigeon along with White-Napes, Grey-Napes and Black-Napes. They are forest dwellers and occupy the niche usually held by pheasants (there are no pheasants in New Guinea). While Green-naped pheasant pigeons are not classified as endangered by Bird Life, we at Pandemonium Aviaries are treating this species as if it were. There are many reasons for this including reports from New Guinea by bird watchers that they very seldom hear the distinctive pheasant pigeon call, that the bird has probably withdrawn deeper into the forest, and the fact that roads through the forest are being built by palm oil companies so there will soon be access to areas where pheasant pigeons might still be living. These birds are not found anywhere other than New Guinea and in-country conservation efforts on their behalf have not been successful. The AZA (American Zoological Association) designated Green-naped pheasant pigeons as a species to be included in their Species Survival Plan.

There are very few places that have been successful at breeding Green-naped pheasant pigeons. Pandemonium is pleased that our birds are producing progeny.