Curator praises 'fantastic accomplishment' as bird team engineers breeding despite falling numbers worldwide

It may be declining rapidly in the wild, but a colourful species known as the Victoria crowned pigeon is proving a welcome addition to the bird collection at London Zoo.

One of the rare breed, which sports cyan blue feathers, an auburn chest, tall plume and orange eyes, hatched last month and is the first of its kind to have been bred at the zoo.

It left the nest for the first time this week and has been exploring the surroundings of the Blackburn Pavilion exhibit.

The Victoria crowned pigeon, renowned ...

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