maroon-breasted is an alternative name for Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon. This one is indeed a Victoria crowned pigeon, but Hong Kong also has Scheepmaker's in their collection.
Thanks for the correction. Not only does Hong Kong hold all three species of Crowned Pigeon, but they are kept in the same aviary. I'm not sure if there are any crossbreeding implications but it was fun trying to ID all three species, and there was a rather good sign for this purpose.
What's the key difference between Victoria and Scheepmaker's? (Maroon Breasted being Hong Kong's preferred name)
I didn't take a picture of the sign but I seem to remember it being the extent of the breast colouration.
Thanks for the correction. Not only does Hong Kong hold all three species of Crowned Pigeon, but they are kept in the same aviary. I'm not sure if there are any crossbreeding implications but it was fun trying to ID all three species, and there was a rather good sign for this purpose.
What's the key difference between Victoria and Scheepmaker's? (Maroon Breasted being Hong Kong's preferred name)
I didn't take a picture of the sign but I seem to remember it being the extent of the breast colouration.
As Javan Rhino pointed out, Victoria is the only one with the white tips on the crest.
Are their Scheepmaker's actually Sclater's as are the ones in Europe?
HBW has split southern into those two species, and I would be interested to know if there are any Goura (scheepmakeri) scheepmakeri in captivity.
What's the key difference between Victoria and Scheepmaker's? (Maroon Breasted being Hong Kong's preferred name)
I didn't take a picture of the sign but I seem to remember it being the extent of the breast colouration.
Only the Victoria crowned pigeon has white-tipped crown feathers. The other two species have all blue crests - and in that case if the bird has a maroon breast it is the Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon and if it has a blue breast then it is the blue crowned pigeon (aka Western or common crowned pigeon).
With regards to separating scheepmakeri and sclaterii (whether or not you regard them split as full species or retain them as subspecies): Scheepmaker's has grey upper throat and wing coverts (maroon in Sclater's) and maroon lower belly (grey in Sclater's).
