Native to tropical Indonesia, the scientific name of the Moluccan imperial pigeon, Ducula perspicillata refers to the way its eyes look as if they’re wearing spectacles. This animal was also photographed at the Houston Zoo.
The Bruce’s green pigeon (Treron waalia) lives in a narrow band of habitat across Central Africa and parts of the Middle East, where it specializes in eating figs. Joel Sartore photographed this bird at the Houston Zoo.
The kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), or New Zealand pigeon (seen at the Auckland Zoo) is considered a cultural treasure by the Maori people.
Bare-eyed pigeons (Patagioenas corensis) stand out for their concentric eye rings, which resemble aviator goggles. The species (pictured, a bird at the National Aviary of Colombia) is heavily hunted for food in its native habitat of Colombia, Venezuela, and the Netherlands Antilles.
Found on Madagascar; Comoros; and Mayotte, a French island off Mozambique, the Madagascar green pigeon (Treron australis) is a vibrant olive green. This animal was photographed at the Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in South Carolina.
With an eye like a ruby, this Pinon's imperial pigeon (Ducula pinon) is native to New Guinea but seen here at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore.
This squatter pigeon (Geophaps scripta), photographed at the Melbourne Zoo, lives in the dry grasslands and forests of Australia.
Take your average street-corner pigeon and give it a mohawk and you’ll get the crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), pictured here at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa. This species can whistle using only its wings.
Capable of flying faster than a speedboat, the white-crowned pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala) can travel up to 30 miles each day in search of food. The IUCN classifies the species as near threatened.
Africa olive pigeon, Columba arquatrix, at Parc des Oiseaux
The Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) is the closest living relative to the dodo. Photographed at Omaha’s Henry Dooly Zoo and Aquarium, these birds can be found from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the Malay Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and Palau. The International Union for Conservaton of Nature lists the species as near-threatened.
No, this isn’t a parrot. It’s a Philippine green pigeon (Treron axillaris) photographed at the Avilon Zoo in the Philippines.
