14 DAY TRIAL // Keepers at Zoo Miami are happy to announce that a Victoria crowned pigeon chick has been born at this facility for the first time ever.
The tiny bird emerged from its egg this past November 30 following an incubation period that laster for 28 days, Zoo Borns reports.
It is still fairly small but, as an adult, it will measure some 30 inches (about 76 centimeters) from beak to tail, and will tip the scale at nearly 5 pounds (almost 2.3 kilograms).
Thanks to humans' having destroyed a large portion of their natural habitat in New Guinea and Indonesia, and having also killed quite a lot of them for food and their colorful feathers, the species is now considered to be a near-threatened one.
Hence, efforts are being made to breed them in captivity.
Interestingly enough, birds belonging to this species mate for life. What's more, the members of a couple take turns in looking after their offspring.