Doves and Pigeons

Australian Crested Doves look like they are sporting mohawks because some of their head feathers stick straight up. Ours are mellow birds who don’t object to sharing an aviary with other doves, like Senegals.

These beautiful birds from the Philippines look as though they are bleeding from the heart. The first time reaction from visitors when they see these beautiful birds is “WOW!” Unfortunately, they are highly endangered in the wild and very rare in captivity. The Bleeding Heart Doves are another featured species for the Pandemonium ARC program. Help us save these gorgeous birds from extinction.

The Blue Crowned pigeon looks very similar to the Victoria Crowned pigeon. Both sub-species are the focus of the Pandemonium Aviaries conservation program ARC. Blue Crowned pigeons do not have the white tips at the rim of their head feathers like the Victorian Crowned pigeons. They do, however, have a white strip just below their wings (the Victoria Crowns do not have the white stripe.)

Male and female Cape Doves look very different; the males have black mouths and the females do not. One of our males is an exceptional father. While it is typical for males to incubate only during the day, he takes more than his fair share of night duty. In addition, he feeds his youngsters long after they should be eating by themselves.

Greenwing Doves come from India. We have 12 of them, all from the same parents. The dad of the clan has more and more white feathers around his face each year. We figure having 10 kids has something to do with it.

There are now fewer than 100 Green Naped Pheasant Pigeons left in captivity world wide. Pandemonium received our first Green Naped Pheasant Pigeon, Chester, many years ago when they were not as rare as they are today. This species is one of our targeted birds for the ARC program. Our mission -- to save the Green Naped Pheasant Pigeon from extinction.

Mountain Witch is a strange name for a bird. This bird goes by many names; Crested Quail Dove, Jamaican Dive and Blue Dove...possibly because they can be found in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. When the walk, they have a distinct bob of their heads.

Some people think Nicobars look sinister because of their black color and unusual feathering. However, when the sun shines on a Nicobar, it glows iridescent blue and green and is by far, one of the loveliest birds at Pandemonium.

Ringneck Doves are among the most gentle and forgiving birds we know. They are easily tamed to eat out of your hand and while they sometimes object to being held, they soon forgive you. Pandemonium came into being because of a Ringneck Dove that was found hurt by the side of a road. We later found out that she had been dropped by a hawk. It isn’t to keep our population of Ringneck Doves under control, since this species reproduce easily and quickly. In addition, they are excellent parents. We try to collect their eggs daily because dove incubation is only 14 days and if we let our doves reproduce at will, we would soon have hundreds!

Senegal Doves resemble Mourning Doves. They have dark spots on their necks and bodies which look like freckles. The only time they get excited is when a hawk is in the area...then these mild mannered birds fly around in a bit of a panic.

Our Celebes were some of the first birds to come live at Pandemonium. While they are not tame, they love to eat mealworms so much that they overcome their fear of humans and come close if you are tossing mealworms.

The Crown Pigeons (Victoria Crown, Blue Crown, and Sheepsmaker Crown pigeons) are native to New Guinea. They are regal-looking birds, reminiscent of peacocks despite being members of the Columbidae family, which includes pigens and doves. Visitors to Pandemonium Aviaries who see Crown Pigeons for the first time have commented that these birds look like feathered puppies because their gait causes a curious ‘wagging’ of their tails as they move.