photo credit: animals.nationalgeographic.com
The other morning brought a joyful surprise. Fifteen pigeons stood on the grassy intersection a few feet from the hill I take to the train station. It looked like a pigeon picnic in progress and every feathered member was having a great time.
A couple of evenings before, a flock of birds zoomed above me while I stood at the bus stop. First they flew in a Z formation, then flew back forming a V. I couldn’t help but feel impressed!
Twice last week as I went up the hill to the overpass bridge above the bustling interstate highway, 20-30 pigeons were all over the lawn. Some were busy pecking at something on the ground while others just hang out without a care. Before I could climb the steps, there was a loud grunting sound followed by half of the flock rapidly taking flight and landing on the opposite lawn. If I wasn’t in a hurry to catch my ride, I would have paused and taken a lazy moment to feast on the pigeon fest.
Many years ago I was driving in a busy part of town when I had to stop to let a flock of pigeons cross the street. My fellow motorists and I all paused and watched the spectacle of webbed feet slowly inching their way over the concrete road onto the grassy curb. For someone who had always driven on busy roadways, that was a lovely rare treat!
Where I live there is a vast greenbelt where pigeons often congregate during the warm season. Their loud grunting sounds have become the familiar outdoor bird call during the pre-snow months. Those feathered creatures usually leave their crap everywhere which is probably the reason that our greenbelt looks lush and refreshing!
It must be nice to be a pigeon. No cares in the world, no bills to pay. To wake up each day with no agenda to follow. What is the pigeon’s mission on earth?
The most sensible answer I found was from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101126225933AAAKPcq:
They're part of the food chain: Hawks, falcons, snakes, cats, etc prey on them; They eat seeds and spread them through their droppings or stuck to feathers; Raccoons, snakes, other scavengers and predators eat their eggs; other functions like that.
Pigeons didn't always live in cities, you know: they're traditionally cliff-dwellers but found modern building structures and the immense amount of discarded food in cities to be extremely to their liking. They evolved to live in a much different world, but multiplied once they found suitable conditions.
Pigeons didn't always live in cities, you know: they're traditionally cliff-dwellers but found modern building structures and the immense amount of discarded food in cities to be extremely to their liking. They evolved to live in a much different world, but multiplied once they found suitable conditions.
For detailed information on this breed of birds, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbidae.
