Pigeon Facts for Bird Enthusiasts
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The pigeon ( columbidae ), pigeon or pigeon, is a bird that you have surely seen in your town or
city. They may even have approached you on the street to feed on the crumbs of whatever you
are eating. At CurioSfera.com we explain the main characteristics of the pigeon , what types
and species exist, what pigeons eat , where they live, reproduction and breeding.
WHAT ARE PIGEONS
The first thing is to know what pigeons are . Well, you should know that the pigeon is a bird
that is part of the Columbiadae family. Judging by appearances, it seems like a rather
insignificant animal: not very pretty, rather shy and incapable of singing . All it knows how to
do, one would say, is flutter around the squares and streets of our cities.
But the pigeon , in certain aspects, is a very interesting bird , and equally interesting are its
relationships with man throughout history. The dove was held in high regard by the Egyptians,
Greeks and Romans, who used it, among other things, in religious ceremonies.
They are admired by some and hated by others, who even call them “ the rats of the air .” It is
true that they can be carriers of some diseases and that there are people who suffer from
colombophobia (fearing fear of pigeons).
The Bible says that Noah, having put the animals in the Ark to save them from the Universal
Flood, sent it three times to see if the waters had receded. The third time the dove returned with
an olive twig in its beak , thus indicating that it was now possible to live on earth again. Based
on this mythical episode, the dove is considered the symbol of peace .
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DOVE
So what is the pigeon like? Well, although the plumage of
pigeons is not particularly attractive, they have a very
beautifully shaped body . The anatomy of the pigeon
highlights:
The head is small and funny.
The neck is short.
The chest is swollen and muscular.
The wings are long and strong.
Its feathers , well attached to its body, contribute to its aerodynamic shape .
With such characteristics , the pigeon could not help but be an excellent flier . It is fast and
resistant, and is endowed with a keen sense of direction . Cases of pigeons reaching speeds of
140 km/hour (87 miles/hour) have been observed.
There is a species, called the carrier pigeon , that is capable of flying without interruption
for up to a maximum of 15 hours , covering a variable distance between 700 and 1,500
kilometers per day. Which means that a specially gifted carrier pigeon can go from Paris to
Madrid in a single day, at about one hundred kilometers per hour without taking the wrong
course.
It is worth highlighting the peculiar way of walking of pigeons . They do this by moving their
head and neck back and forth constantly. You can see the reason for this peculiarity in the
following infographic:
What do pigeons eat
Pigeons are animals that can be fed with different
types of grains , such as corn , sorghum, wheat , dari
(white sorghum), rice , oats, barley, bean, pea, vetch,
lentils, carob, flax, beans, hemp, sunflower or rapeseed.
The mixture of all these grains is called a mixture ,
and it can be purchased in stores or businesses
dedicated to animals or pets. Grains provide them with
the fats, carbohydrates and proteins they need.
As a general rule, they usually consume approximately 35 grams of the mixture per day. But
during the breeding or breeding season they can eat more.
Pigeons, as we have already mentioned before, prefer to eat grain (they are granivorous), but
they can also feed on fruits and some vegetables (such as carrots or lettuce). But care should
be taken to give this type of food in very small pieces and only once a week.
If we talk about the diet of pigeons that live in the wild, naturally their diet varies depending on
the area in which they live. If they do it in cities or cities, they usually feed themselves with
food scraps that they find , since it is very difficult for them to have access to cereal grains .
TYPES OF PIGEONS
There are about 350 breeds of pigeons around the world, but they all come from an original
species: the wild pigeon . In order to catalog and classify this great variety of pigeon, we have
resorted to separating them by certain characteristics or traits that are common among them.
For example: plumage, position or structure (fantails, cravats or nasturtiums). The origin,
nationality or usefulness of the types of pigeons or pigeons is also used to classify them. There
are ornamental pigeons and breed pigeons . Let's see the most important species of pigeons :
PIGEON REPRODUCTION
Regarding the mating of pigeons , their reproduction is merely sexual. During the mating
season, it is the male who is in charge of attracting the female through chirping and various
songs. It is quite a ritual, both caress and groom each other before the act, in which they simply
join their cloacas, which in pigeons is used to urinate, defecate and reproduce.
This act is technically called a “ cloacal kiss .” The male expels his sperm into the female who
receives them through a hole located in the cloaca through which the sperm reaches the eggs.
Approximately, after 17 or 18 days of laying the egg, the chicks are born , which is the name
given to the offspring of pigeons . Both the female and the male are involved in feeding and
protecting the young. They are fed for seven days with a type of very liquid milk or paste that
the parents prepare in their crops.
After about a week, the little chicks begin to eat soft crushed seeds. After 4 weeks, the chicks
begin to leave the nest and explore the outside world. So, gradually, they also begin to eat for
themselves.