Pink Pigeon
Physical Appearance: As the name suggests, the pink pigeon has light pink feathers, brown wings, dark pink bill, legs and feet with a dark brown tail. Gerald Durrell once described pink pigeons.


"The colors seen closely, even in artificial light, were vivid and beautiful: the pale chocolates of the wings and the back, the rusty, almost fox-red of the tail and rump, and then the broad-breast, neck and head, pale gray flushed with cyclamen-pink overtones. It was a beautiful bird." (Excerpted from Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons, pg 52, 1977)

The pink pigeon roughly equals the size of the common pigeons found in cities all over the world.
Reproduction: The breeding season lasts from December to September. The size of the clutch (nest of eggs) is one or two white eggs with an incubation of 14 days. Both parents take part in nest building, incubation and child rearing.

Diet: The flowers, fruits, buds, leaves, and seeds of native and exotic vegetation forms the pink pigeons diet.

Predators:The black rat (Rattus rattus) and the macaque (Macaca fascicularis) are the main predators of pink pigeons.

Geographic Range: The pink pigeon is limited to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

Biomes:Sub-tropical evergreen forest

Habitat: The Black River Gorge area of Mauritius, the southwest region of the island

IUCN Status: Endangered In 1993, the wild population was estimated at 21 birds. In 1976 the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust initiated a captive breeding program in Mauritius, the United States and Europe. The captive pink pigeon population is about 180 birds.

Threats to Survival:Predation by non-native animals like macaques (Macaca fascicularis), feral cats (Felis catus)and black rats (Rattus rattus) threaten the existence of pink pigeons. Conservation efforts include curbing populations of these non-native animals.
Pink Pigeon


The pink pigeon (Columba mayeri) was once one of the world’s rarest birds. Formerly widespread thoughout the forests of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, numbers declined to less than 20 birds by the mid 1970s, due to forest loss and predation by introduced rats, cats and monkeys. By 1990, only 9-10 birds were left in the wild. To avoid its imminent extinction, a recovery programme was developed, and by 2000, a total of 301 captive-bred and captive-reared young were re-established on mainland Mauritius and one offshore island. In 2006, the free-living population numbered 350, thanks to intensive post-release management, such as supplemental feeding, predator control, habitat protection and restoration. Thanks to this improvement, it was downlisted from from Critically Endangered to Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2006. SSC Re-Introduction Specialist Group BirdLife
Red List
National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Selected Species From 2006 ''Red List''

PAMPERED PIGEON: A close relative of the dodo, the pink pigeon once seemed destined to follow its cousin on the path to oblivion. By 1990, predation by alien carnivores, habitat destruction and an introduced disease, trichomoniasis, had slashed the pigeon's population to just nine individuals. Today, due in part to a successful captive breeding program, the pigeon's numbers have swelled to more than 400.



The Pink Pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) survives in the Black River Gorges of south-west Mauritius and on Ile aux Aigrettes, just off the eastern coast. Although once common, it declined to just 10 wild individuals in 1990. Since then, intensive management has resulted in a spectacular increase. In January 2000, the wild population was 364 to 375, at four mainland sites plus Ile aux Aigrettes. By the end of 2004, the population was 359 to 395 indviduals, likely nearer the lower estimate. Severe loss of habitat has been compounded by predation of nests and adults by introduced Crab-eating Macaque Macaca fascicularis, mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus, rats and feral cats. Cyclones destroy nests and accelerate habitat degradation. Disease and late-winter food shortages are also threats. The species is currently listed as Endangered.