Find facts and information about the Bleeding Heart Pigeon at the Forest Cottage.

Pigeons and doves are of the order Columbiformes and the family Columbidae. They are small headed, short-legged, swift-flying birds with pointed wings and fanned or tapered tails. Females are duller than males.

All species coo; they bob heads when walking. They eat grains, small seeds, acorns and fruit. Their nests are generally in trees; eggs, usually 2, are white.

Unlike other birds, they drink by sucking water up through the bill. Parents feed the young "pigeon's milk" which is composed of fat cells from the lining of the crop.

The Bleeding Heart Pigeons, Gallicolumba luzonica of the Philippines (12 inches) have a bright red splash, resembling blood, on an otherwise all white breast. They are blue-grey above with black bars across the wings.