Why don't you
ever see
baby pigeons?
seen a pigeon
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The full narration of the video.
Pigeons are everywhere, so why do you never see a baby one? Hundreds peck around the square, and a pair often perches on the air conditioner. Yet fluffy baby pigeons seem to be nowhere. The babies are there all along, hidden right above your head. Let's start with a single egg.
The pigeon's ancestor, the rock dove, lived on sea cliffs and mountain cliffs, nesting in cracks in the rock. To a pigeon, a city is a man-made cliff. Rooftop edges, bridges, eaves, the space behind an air conditioner: all high, narrow cracks. Dad brings twigs, mom builds a sloppy little nest, and lays two eggs.
The parents take turns sitting on them for about eighteen days. A newly hatched pigeon has pink skin, a few wisps of yellow fuzz, and eyes still shut. Its food is unusual. Parents have a food pouch in the throat, the crop, and its lining makes a curdy paste called crop milk. Dads make it too.
The parents feed it mouth to mouth, and the chick changes by the day. Unlike a duckling, it doesn't trot after mom from day one. A baby pigeon stays in the nest and never steps out. It stays there for twenty-five to thirty-two days, longer in cold weather.
By the time it finally steps to the edge and flies for the first time, it's nearly as big as its parents. It's like a kid who's homeschooled until they're as tall as a grown-up, and only then shows up for the first day of school. Everyone you see on the playground is big, so of course you never spot a tiny first grader.
That flock in the square already has birds just days out of the nest. They're the big new kids. How do you spot one? Look at the fleshy bump above the beak, the cere. On adults it's white and puffy; on youngsters it's small and gray. Then check the neck. An adult's neck flashes green and purple when it turns; a youngster's is dull and barely shines.
A pair can raise several broods a year, so baby pigeons are plentiful. They just stay up high until they're grown. Next time you feed pigeons, skip the greedy ones and check the noses. A gray nose and a dull neck means it left the nest this year. How many can you pick out of one flock?
The babies are
right above you
City pigeons come from birds that nested in cliff cracks.
City pigeons descend from the wild rock dove. To them, a city is a man-made cliff. Ledges, bridges, eaves and the space behind an air conditioner are all high, narrow "cracks". The chicks grow up there, and few people look up to find them.
A month
indoors
Ducklings walk around.
Baby pigeons don't.
It's like a kid who is homeschooled until they are as tall as a grown-up, and only then goes to school for the first time. Everyone on the playground is big, so you never spot a tiny first grader.
A pair can raise several broods a year. There are plenty of babies; they just stay up high until they're grown.
Spot the
"big new kid"
The flock in the square includes birds just days out of the nest. Check two things:
They just grow up
before going out.
Quick check
Why do you almost never see fluffy baby pigeons on the street?
Like a kid homeschooled until adult height before the first day of school: the fluffy stage is all spent in the nest.
