Pigeons

[Marques]

I'm yet to see anyone who loves pigeons. Always see these lil rascals are a nuisance...they shit on us, fly into us, steal our food etc but today i read an interesting few extracts about them from this website http://www.londonpigeons.co.uk/

Notable instances of pigeon intelligence I have witnessed:

A baby pigeon was nursed by a kind family who went on a two week holiday. When the family came back from the holiday the pigeon remembered who they were and followed them around whilst cooing cheerfully
A pigeon that flew into a window in South East London. Once it recovered from its fractured skull it appeared to learn from its mistakes as it was never observed to fly into a window again
Pigeons in Clissolds Park recognising the people that regularly come to feed them and flocking around them every time they come to the park
A child who fed a pigeon on a regular basis, the pigeon witnessed the child being bullied and swooped in and pecked the bully on the back of the head until the bullying stopped

A pigeon stopped bullying...

More interesting stuff,

Carnivorous tendencies

There has been an increase in the number of reports of pigeons pecking each other over the last few years. Our current hypothesis is that this may be related to pigeons getting used to eating fried chicken, it is possible that this may have given them a taste for bird and that they are starting to suspect that they themselves are birds. It is thought that if they make the connection, that this may lead to chaos and the eventual extinction of the pigeon.

Best yet,

An average day for a pigeon

In order to get a good grasp of what pigeons do on an average day I engaged in observational research with behavioural coding. There were a number of methodological difficulties which had to be overcome: the main issue being that pigeons do not like being followed, they have a tendency to run away and if they get spooked they can also fly away. In order to overcome this issue the volunteers dressed up as trees and stood very still, this was found to be suitably effective and also had the added benefit that some tourists thoughts that we were 'living statues' and took photos of us and left piles of coins at our feet.

The experiment revealed that pigeons spend over a third of every day sleeping. The next most common behaviours involve eating food (or at least pecking the floor - it's not always possible to tell if there is anything there). The third most common activity pigeons took part in was playing cops and robbers (chasing or being chased), we hypothesise that there are several reasons for this behaviour:

Mating - male pigeons like to display their virility by charging around on a testosterone fuelled mission in a bid to impress their female counterparts.
Fighting - squadron leaders lead their troops on daring raids to steal food and female pigeons from rival gangs
Playing - sometimes pigeons get bored and chase each other for fun. This may be inspired by the myriad car chases in recent Hollywood films. This behaviour is thought to be linked to the increase in outdoor screening of films that has been observed in London over the last couple of years.

Stealing food, raiding females, chasing for fun, mating whenever possible etc I wanna be a pigeon now.

[BlackVelvet]

[Alphanumeric]

Wartime message carrying during air-raids aren't enough to impress you it seems.

[Marques]

A lot of birds and animals can do amazing stuff when trained...i'm just delving into their everyday lives..

[Alphanumeric]

Yeah jk.

Personally, I find dogs pretty amazing.

[CushiticReflections]

Interesting stuff... but I still dislike the vile creatures.

[SultanOrder]

fake

[Arabman]

They are found wherever humans are. I respect them, and when I see them crossing a road, I slow down or stop for them. Sometimes, I feed them. They are smart, like this one that successfully crossed a highway:

[Lillaahiya]

Pigeons get no love.

[hydrogen]

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced today it is offering a $2,000 reward for information on one or more shooters involved in impaling pigeons in downtown Seattle with metal darts.

Several Seattle residents have called PETA in the past two weeks to report seeing three injured pigeons fluttering around with needle-like projectiles — about three to four inches long — piercing their heads, said Tori Perry, cruelty case worker for the Norfolk, Virginia-based organization. The birds were spotted on the 1400 block of Third Avenue and at the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street, she added.

The darts were fired from a blow gun, lodging directly behind the birds' eyes without penetrating their brains, Perry said.

The longer the darts remain, the higher the chance for the injury to get worse and infection to set in, she said. The end result: "a very, very painful death," Perry said.

"This is just a horrifying case," she said. "Someone who would do this to an animal is a short step away from doing this to a human being."

Authorities at the Seattle Animal Shelter said they have also gotten several complaints about the darted pigeons. And, they add, it's been difficult to track and capture the birds to get them proper treatment.

"They are quite athletic, good fliers," said Don Baxter, enforcement supervisor. "They're not hanging around waiting for an officer to get close" and take it to a veterinarian, he said.

[zulaika]

pigeons I don't mind, seagulls I hate.. they r aggressive

[Alphanumeric]

Pigeons get no love.

Woow.

[SultanOrder]

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced today it is offering a $2,000 reward for information on one or more shooters involved in impaling pigeons in downtown Seattle with metal darts.

Several Seattle residents have called PETA in the past two weeks to report seeing three injured pigeons fluttering around with needle-like projectiles — about three to four inches long — piercing their heads, said Tori Perry, cruelty case worker for the Norfolk, Virginia-based organization. The birds were spotted on the 1400 block of Third Avenue and at the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street, she added.

The darts were fired from a blow gun, lodging directly behind the birds' eyes without penetrating their brains, Perry said.

The longer the darts remain, the higher the chance for the injury to get worse and infection to set in, she said. The end result: "a very, very painful death," Perry said.

"This is just a horrifying case," she said. "Someone who would do this to an animal is a short step away from doing this to a human being."

Authorities at the Seattle Animal Shelter said they have also gotten several complaints about the darted pigeons. And, they add, it's been difficult to track and capture the birds to get them proper treatment.

"They are quite athletic, good fliers," said Don Baxter, enforcement supervisor. "They're not hanging around waiting for an officer to get close" and take it to a veterinarian, he said.

It's a few blocks away from where I work. But to be fair third and Union is where all the pan handlers, drug dealers and junkies hang around.

[Rockstar]

I don't trust them. They never look at you in the eye. They are quick to move their heads and turn away.

[Lillaahiya]

Pigeons get no love.

Woow.

I hate who I've become.