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A man in Singapore has found himself torn between saving his money plant and caring for two unexpected feathery guests at the start of the month.
The pair of pink-necked green pigeons has somehow decided to nest on his potted plant.
They have been nesting in the man's potted plant since June 9 and the man, surnamed Wong, spotted two hatchlings recently after close to three weeks.
The pot's occupancy now expanded from two to four.
Male pigeon with squabs. Screenshot image from Singapore Wildlife Sightings/Facebook.
Two hatchlings
Wong broke the good news on the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group on June 26.
He initially discovered some broken egg shells around the foot of the pot – the pigeons' peculiar home.
Image from Singapore Wildlife Sightings/Facebook.
Only a few days later, he managed to catch a glimpse of the baby pigeons, also known as squabs, on June 26.
Image from Singapore Wildlife Sightings/Facebook.
Image from Singapore Wildlife Sighting/Facebook.
Wong noted that the mummy pigeon has been visiting more often since the birth of the squabs.
Here's a shot of her sitting on the squabs during day time:
Female pigeon with squabs. Image from Singapore Wildlife Sightings/Facebook.
Previously, the couple took turns to incubate the eggs with Daddy pigeon taking the day shift while Mummy pigeon taking over at night.
Forged special bond with the pigeons
Over time, Wong definitely grew closer to the pigeon family.
Recently, Wong uploaded a video of himself spoon-feeding the male pink-necked green pigeon cut grapes.
Video from Singapore Wildlife Sightings/Facebook.
While the male pigeon "gobbled" everything, the female pigeon was slightly more flighty.
Many followers in the group share the joy with Wong but some pointed out that hand feeding the pigeons can lead to unexpected consequences even though it was a kind act.
Image from Singapore Wildlife Sighting/Facebook.
Image from Singapore Wildlife Sighting/Facebook.
Pink-necked green pigeons
Pink-necked green pigeons are sexually dimorphic, a condition where the two sexes from a same species differ in more than one manner besides their sexual anatomy.
The plumage, or feathers, of a male pigeon differs vastly different from a female pigeon.
A male is vibrantly tinged with blue, purple, orange and shades of green while a female is a slightly more subdued green throughout.
From left to right: female and male pigeon. Image from Singapore Wildlife Sightings/Facebook.
Both the male and female pigeon produce pigeon milk, or crop milk, to be fed to the squabs.
The milk consists of fluid-filled cells shed from the lining of the crop, a food storage gland located at the bottom of the birds' oesophagus.
The squabs will take around two weeks to be fully fledged and soon after the family will leave the nest.
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Top image from Singapore Wildlife Sightings/Facebook