The Victoria Crowned Pigeon

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria) is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and red iris. It is part of a genus of three unique very large, ground-dwelling pigeons native to the New Guinea region. The bird may be easily recognized by the unique white tips on its crests and by its deep ‘whooping’ sounds made while calling.[2] Its name commemorates the British monarch, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is distributed in the lowland and swamp forests of northern New Guinea and surrounding islands. Like other crowned pigeons, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon is a gregarious species. Breeding peaks late in wet season and in the dry season. When the male displays for the female, he lowers his head down, stretches forward and then rhythmically swings his head up and down while simultaneously wagging his fanned tail.
The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is now the most rarely occurring of the three crowned pigeon species in the wild, although it is the most widely kept species in captivity.