March 02, 2022, 05:53 PM
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A pink-necked green pigeon family found itself a home on the balcony of an apartment in Queenstown.
They built a nest, laid eggs and raised their chick until it was ready to fly.
Ryan, the occupant of the home, documented the family's journey on Instagram and Facebook.
An egg was laid
On Jan. 31, Ryan wrote that the pigeons had started building a nest with branches and twigs in his papaya planter on his apartment balcony.
The next day (Feb. 1), an egg was found nestled in the planter.
The parents incubated the egg by "sitting" on it to keep it warm.
For the first few days, the father, recognisable by its array of green, blue, orange and pink hues across its body, incubated the eggs.
From day 5 (Feb. 6), Ryan noticed that the mother bird came to incubate the egg as well.
The mother bird is less colourful with a slightly more subdued green throughout.
The baby bird
After days of nurturing, the egg hatched, and the baby bird was born on Feb. 17.
The parents took turns to take care of the baby bird. The father bird was sitting on the baby, got up and flew off.
Almost immediately, the mother bird perched herself over to her baby, presumably to keep it warm.
"Usually the Daddy looks after the nest around 8am-5pm while the Mummy takes over from 5pm-8am," Ryan told Mothership.
Over the next few days, the baby bird grew bigger and bigger and could finally move around.
Nearing the end of February, the baby bird learned how to fly and underwent "training" with dad.
And on Feb. 28 at 5pm, the birds left the nest and their temporary home on the welcoming stranger's apartment balcony.
"With mixed feelings, I would like to share that the baby has flown away with its parents at 5pm today. Thank you, lovely pigeons for coming to stay with us. We will miss you," Ryan wrote.
Many netizens on Facebook thanked Ryan for sharing the bids' journey.
One said:
"So wonderful to watch your updates. It’s like part of the chatgroup family too. Wishing them stay safe and healthy!!"
Ryan said that he and his wife initially shared the photos with our families and friends on WhatsApp. He then decided to share it online after a friend encouraged him to "share the joy with other animal lovers".
Pink-necked green pigeons
Pink-necked green pigeons are monogamous, which means that they commit to one mate for life.
Their breeding season takes place between March and July when a clutch of two white eggs are typically laid.
The birds on Ryan's balcony laid two eggs, but one of them disappeared overnight.
"It just disappeared one day and we don’t see it on the balcony floor."
Both male and female are involved in the incubation of eggs and care of young chicks, as what Ryan observed.
The pigeon parents take turns to sit on the eggs. Typically, male pigeons incubate during the day while females do so at night for about 17 days.
The hatchlings are fed pigeon milk, or crop milk, first. The milk is produced by both parents and consists of fluid-filled cells shed from the lining of the crop, a food storage gland located at the bottom of the birds' oesophagus.
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