Trocaz Pigeon
Silver neck pigeon ( Columba trocaz )
The silver neck pigeon ( Columba trocaz ), sometimes called Madeira dove is endemic to Madeira pigeon. It resembles the laurel pigeon and Bolles laurel pigeon, which are endemic in the laurel forests of the Canary Islands. The stock is about 7,000 animals, with the protection of the laurel forest on Madeira was the stock very beneficial. One of the greatest threats to the species include rats, which are spread all over Madeira.
The silver neck dove is led by the EU in Annex I of the protected bird species.
Exterior Features
The silver neck dove is up to 42 inches long. The males weigh about 500 grams, the females, however, only 400 grams. The silver neck dove is slightly larger and plumper than a wood pigeon.
The silver neck dove is colored predominantly dark, but similar altogether Ringeltaube very. However, it lacks the white on the wings. The chest has a purple shimmer. On the neck it has silvery spots and over the tail pulls a bright cross band. The beak is orange-red in the adult birds, young birds brownish red, the iris of the eye is bright yellow, and the legs are carmine.
Habitat and behavior
The silver neck dove inhabits the laurel forests in the mountains in the north of Madeira. It comes on Madeira but also in the growing areas in Madeira before and can do some damage there. The breed is not tied to one season. However, most nests are found in the period from March to May. It can take place up to four broods a year. The nest, however, always includes only one egg. The nest is found in trees, shrubs but also on rock projections.
The silver neck dove feeds on fruits, especially from those of the Azores laurel. In addition, they eat seeds, grasses and insects.
Attitude in captivity
The Berlin Zoo held silver neck doves from 1914 and was from 1915 with these birds breed successfully. The breed was not completed until 1945. Otherwise breeds of silver neck dove succeed only very rarely - in the long-term success of the Berlin Zoo breeding was only once succeeded in 1908.