Quote:  In the end we will conserve only what we love.

We will love only what we understand.

We will understand only what we are taught……Baba Dioum

Just for fun and education I have included some amazing facts related to our “oldest feathered friend” on this website:

 Are Rock Doves intelligent? Considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet, able to undertake tasks previous thought to be the sole preserve on humans and primates.  Has also been found to pass the ‘mirror test’ (being able to recognize its refection in a mirror) and is one of only 6 species, and the only non-mammal that has this ability. They can also recognize all 26 letters of the English language as well as being able to conceptualize.  In scientific tests Rock Doves have been found to be able to differentiate between photographs and even differentiate between two different human beings in a photograph when rewarded with food for doing so. 

“Rock Dove” or “pigeon”? A cliff dwelling bird historically found in coastal regions, the bird that we see in our towns and cities today is descended from the Rock Dove (Columba livia). The terms “pigeon” and “dove” do not refer to separate taxonomic groupings within the family.  The word “pigeon” is actually derived from the Latin word ‘pipio’ which meant ‘young bird’.  The word then passed into Old French as ‘pijon’ and thus the name ‘pigeon’ was derived and now used to describe the larger of the Columbiformes while “dove” is used for smaller species.   In 2004 British and American Ornithologists officially re-named the bird the Rock Pigeon. 

How old are pigeons? Pigeons have lived alongside man for thousands of years with the first images being found by archaeologists in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and dating back to 3000 BC.  It was the Sumerians in Mesopotamia that first started to breed white does from the wild stock that we see in our towns and cities.  This undoubtedly accounts for the amazing variety of colors that are found in the average flock of urban pigeons.  To ancient peoples a white pigeon would have seemed miraculous and this explains why the bird was widely worshipped and considered to be sacred.  Throughout human history the pigeon has adopted many roles ranging form symbols of love, hope and peace, the presence of the Holy Spirit and as sacrificial victims, messengers, pets, food and even war heroes! 

What are some Biblical references?  The story of Noah and the Dove of Peace is the first biblical reference, mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible in the first millennium AC. Later, in the in the New Testament during the baptism of Christ the Dove descended as the Holy Spirit, and image now used extensively in Christian art.   

Mating habits of the Pigeon.  The pigeon mates for life and can breed up to eight times a year in optimum conditions, bringing two young into the world each time.  The frequency of breeding is dictated by the abundance of food.  The eggs take 18 to 19 days to hatch both parents incubating the eggs.  Hatchlings are commonly known as ‘squabs’.  Both parents feed the young with a special ‘milk’ that is fed to the squabs that can double its birth weight in one day.  It takes four days for the eyes to open.  When squabs are hungry they ‘squeak’ whilst flapping their wings and as a result they are also commonly called ‘squeakers.’  At approximately two months of age the young are ready to fledge and leave the nest.  This much longer than average time spent in the nest ensures that life expectancy of a juvenile pigeon is far greater that that of other fledglings. 

The pigeon as a messenger. The earliest large scale communication network was established in Syria and Persia about the 5th Century BC.  Much later in the 12th Century AD the city of Baghdad and all the main towns and cities in Syria and Egypt were linked by messages and carried by pigeons.  This was the sole source of communication.  In Roman times the pigeon was used to carry results of sporting events such as the Olympic Games and this is why white doves are released at the start of the Olympic Games today.  In England, prior to the days of telegraphs, pigeons were often taken to soccer matches and released to carry home the result of the game.  Their use as a messenger in war time resulted in many pigeons being awarded honors by both the British and French Governments.  Incredibly, the last ‘pigeon post’ service was abandoned in India in 2004 with the birds being retired to live out the rest of their days in peace. 

 How do pigeons navigate?  There are many theories about how pigeons manage to return ‘home’ when released 100’s of miles from their loft.  A champion racing pigeon can be released 400-600 miles away from its home and still return within the day.  This amazing feat does not just apply to ‘racing’ or ‘homing’ pigeons, all pigeons have the ability to return to their dovecote or loft.  A ten year study carried out by Oxford University concluded that pigeons use roads and freeways to navigate, in some cases even changing direction at freeway junctions.  Other use roads and freeways to navigate, in some cases even changing direction at freeway junctions.  Other theories include navigation by use of the earth’s magnetic field, visual clues such as landmarks, the sun and even infrasound(low frequency seismic waves) and smell.  Whatever the truth, this unique ability makes the pigeon a very special bird.  

Pigeons in Wall Street:  In the early 1800’s the Rothchild family set up a network of pigeon lofts throughout Europe and used homing pigeons to carry information between its financial houses.  This method proved to be quicker and more efficient than any other means of communication available at the time.  The speed of the service combined with the ability to send and receive information ahead of the competition helped the Rothchild family amass a fortune which still exists today.

 Pigeons in the News:  One of the world’s most famous news agencies, Reuters, started its European business by using trained homing pigeons.  The service was started in 1850 with 45 pigeons carrying the latest news and stock prices from Aachen in Germany to Brussels in Belgium.  Although a telegraph service between the two countries existed, numerous gaps in the transmission lines made communication difficult and slow.  The birds traveled the 76 miles in a record-breaking two hours beating the railway by four hours. 

Pigeon-gram Air Mail service:  The first organized service was started in 1896 between New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef.  The sinking of the SS Wairarapa off the Great Barrier Reef, with the loss of 134 lives, was a catalyst for the service.  News of the disaster did not reach New Zealand for 3 days and as a direct result a pigeon-gram service was set up between the two islands.  The first message was carried in January 1896 and took less than 1.75 hours to reach Aukland.  Up to 5 messages were carried by each pigeon with the record time for the journey being held by a pigeon called ‘Velocity’ taking only 50 minutes.  Special pigeon-gram stamps were issued costing 20 cents with the fee being paid in cash before the pigeon was released   

The Pigeon as a war hero:  Pigeons have been used to great effect during wartime.  In both the first and second World Wars hundreds of thousands of human lives were saved by carrying messages across enemy lines.  In the event of a U-boat attack, a messenger pigeon was released with details of the location of the sinking ship or convoy.  In many cases this lead to the survivors being rescued and lives saved.  Mobile pigeon lofts were set up behind the trenches in the First World War from which pigeons often had to fly through enemy fire and poison gas to get their messages home.  The birds played a vital role in intelligence gathering and were used extensively behind enemy lines where the survival rate was only 10%.  In the Second World War pigeons were used less due to advances in telecommunications, but the birds relayed invaluable information back to the allies about the German V-1 and V-2 Rocket sites on the other side of the Channel.  

Pigeons as lifesavers:  Although pigeons are one of the most intelligent of all of the bird species man has found limited uses for the birds other than for the purposes of sport, food and as a message carrier. A team of navy researchers, however, has found that pigeons can be trained to save human lives at sea with high success rates.  Project Sea Hunt has trained a number of pigeons to identify red or yellow life jackets when floating in the water. The pigeons were not only found to be more reliable that humans but they were also many times quicker than humans when it came to spotting survivors from a capsized or sinking boat.  The pigeon can see color in the same way that humans do but they an also see ultra-violet , a part of the spectrum that humans cannot see, and this is one of the reasons they are so well adapted to lifesaving.  

Famous people and pigeons:  Probably the most famous of all was Noah in the Old Testament, but the pigeon has attracted some very famous fans over the last few thousand years.  Ranging from Royalty to rock and roll singers and actors through to fashion designers.  One of the most well-known fanciers is Queen Elizabeth of England who has lofts and keepers at her estate in Sandringham, Norfolk.  Elvis Presley had a soft spot for pigeons and Mike Tyson is also an enthusiastic pigeon keeper.  Even Maurizzo Gucci, fashion designer is a keen fancier spending a reputed $10,000on one American pigeon.   

Why do pigeons bob their heads?  The pigeon has side mounted eyes unlike humans and owls which have forward facing eyes.  Pigeons have monocular vision rather than binocular vision.  They bob their heads for depth of perception.  The pigeon’s eyes work much better with stationery images and therefore, as the pigeon takes a step forward the head is temporarily left behind.  The next step jerks the head forward again and so on.  This allows the bird to correctly orient itself. 

Why do you never see a baby pigeon?  Most small birds rear and fledge their young in two to three weeks.  Some leave the nest only ten days after hatching.  Pigeons young remain in the nest for up to two months before fledging.  This gibes the young and advantage over many other species of bird.  It leaves the nest as a relatively mature juvenile, allowing the bird to cope better in the first few days of its life, a dangerous time for all youngsters.  Juveniles can be told apart from adults but it takes an experienced eye. A juveniles beak often appears to be far too long for the size of its body and the cere (fleshy area at the top of the beak) is white in adults and grayish ping in juveniles. 

What is the natural predator of the pigeon?  Although the natural enemy of the feral pigeon is now man, with millions of pigeons being killed in control operations the world over, it is the peregrine falcon that is the pigeons’ real natural predator.  Although a shy and retiring bird that has its natural habitat along rock coastlines, the peregrine is now being introduced into towns and cities as a ‘natural’ pigeon control.  The peregrine is the fastest bird on the planet when in a dive and can achieve speeds in excess of 200 mph over 130 mph faster that a pigeon. 

Pigeon disasters:  Probably the greatest disaster to befall the species was the extermination of the passenger pigeon in North America in the early part of the 20th century.  It is estimated that there were 305 billion passenger pigeons in North America at the time.  Flocks of 100,000’s of the birds would blacken the skies as they flew over but early settlers managed to wipe out every last bird by 1914 through over-hunting.  The ubiquitous mourning dove is believed to be a close relative.

 Pigeons are big business:  Racing pigeons can be worth huge sums of money.  One racing pigeon recently sold for a staggering $132,517.00!  The three year old bird was a champion racer beating 21,000 other birds in one long distance race.  For this reason he was bought by one British company that breeds racing pigeons for ‘stud’.  One very happy pigeon!  The previous record price was $73,800.00. 

Famous pigeons:  During the First World War a pigeon named Cher Ami (Dear friend) saved the lives of many French soldiers by carrying a message across enemy lines in the heat of battle.  Cher Ami was shot in the chest and the leg, loosing most of the leg to which the message was attached, but continued the 25 minute flight avoiding shrapnel and poison gas to get the message home.  Cher Ami was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre” for heroic service.  Another heroic pigeon named G.I. Joe saved the lives of a thousand soldiers in World War II.  After British troops had established a position within an Italian town that was due to be bombed by allied planes. Communication equipment was down and the only means of stopping the raid was to attach, a hastily written message to G.I. Joe and send him to the HQ.  G.I. Joe flew 20 miles in 20 minutes arriving at th air base whilst the planes were taxing on the runway.   Disaster was averted with 5 minutes to spare.  G.I. Joe received the “Dickin” medal for his bravery. 

Pigeon poop—foul or fantastic?  Although pigeon droppings are seen as a major problem for property owners in the 21st Century, it was considered to be an invaluable resource in the 16th century in Europe.  It was a highly prized fertilizer and considered to be far more potent than farmyard manure.  So prized in fact that armed guards were stationed at the entrances to dovecotes (pigeon houses) to stop thieves from stealing it.  Not only this, but in England in the 16th Century pigeon poop was the only known source of saltpeter, and essential ingredient of gunpowder and was considered a highly valued commodity as a result.  In Iran, dovecotes were set up and used simply as a source of fertilizer for melon crops and in France and Italy it was used to fertilize the vineyards and hemp crops.  

Pigeon sayings:  Pigeon hole…..Pigeon toed…….Stool pigeon