Rock Pigeons (Rock Doves)

1. Rock Pigeons (Rock Doves)

2. Classification • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata • Class: Aves • Order: Columbiformes • Family: Columbidae • Genus: Columba • Species: Columba livia

3. Name Origin • “Pigeon” originally referred to any young bird, and comes from the Latin pipire, to chirp or cheep. • A “pigeon” is a person who’s easily duped or a coward • To “pigeon someone” is to take advantage of his or her gullible nature • A “stool pigeon” is nobody’s friend • “Dove” may spring from the Old English word for “dive,” however it came to be known to represent our hopes for our best selves

4. Characteristics Each bird has A slate gray body Dark bands on the wings A white patch above the tail Iridescent green and purple sheen on the neck Hot pink feet Orange eyes The adult female is almost identical to the male, but the iridescence on the neck is less intense and more restricted to the rear and sides Young birds show little lustre and are duller

5. World Distribution of the Rock Pigeon

6. Pigeon Introduction Samuel de Champlain • In 1604, the Sieur de Monts and his navigator, Samuel de Champlain set off to North America with high hopes - a monopoly on fur trade and a boatful of colonists • They landed on the small island of St. Croix located at the mouth of the St. Croix River between Maine and Canada. The colony failed • Before the next cold season, the colonists moved to Port Royal, near Nova Scotia • However, as their luck was about to run out a ship called the Jonas arrived with fresh supplies, including alcohol and pigeons

7. During the years when Champlain was mapping North America’s east coast, he noticed that pigeons had dispersed and were successfully reproducing • In his native France, nobles had the right to own a dovecote (e.g. pigeon house or coupe) • At times more than a million birds flew over the fields, skimming for choice grain that might have fallen to the ground • Meanwhile pigeon breeding picked up as a hobby for many of the North American gentlemen • Their birds were bred for plumage that curled out rather than in, short beaks, long legs, necks without feathers and good posture

8. Famous Pigeon Fancier • To date the most famous of the pigeon fanciers was Charles Darwin • His observation of these birds formed a foundation block of his argument for natural selection in On the Origin of Species • For this book, he watched and took notes as offspring from white and black pigeons produced slate blue chicks with black bands on their wings • He believed that these characteristics mirrored the ancestral form (originally brought to North America) Charles Darwin

9. Food Habits • Pigeons typically eat grain and seeds, and will sometimes subsist on spilled or improperly stored grain • Pigeons also have been known to feed on garbage, livestock manure, insects, or other food materials • In many urban areas, feeding pigeons is considered a form of recreation

10. Mating Behavior • Pigeons live in groups called “flocks,” and show a strong affinity for human-built structures • When a male wants to court a female, he circles her with neck feathers inflated and tail spread out while by bowing and cooing • These birds mate for life, however, whenever one dies the survivor will attempt to find another mate • Pigeons breed throughout the year, and can raise four to five broods annually, depending on climate and geographic location

11. Offspring and Nest Habits • Their nests consist of twigs, leaves, and a few feathers – located most anywhere, including window ledges, behind signs, and under bridges • Each parent takes turns incubating the clutch of one or two white eggs for 16-19 days • Both parents feed their newly hatched young (squabs) with crop “milk”, a secretion from the lining of the crop (a saclike food storage extension of the esophagus, unique to birds) • The young can start flying at four to six weeks of age, although they remain dependent on their parents for as long as the adults can tolerate them

12. Homing Pigeons (domesticated) • Homing Pigeons are a variety of Rock Pigeon bred specifically to find locations from great distances • Caesar was the first documented to use Homing Pigeons (Columba liviadomestica) to carry vital messages, but this interest did not surge until 1870 • Even though communication systems had improved, Homing Pigeons were used during WWI and II • Competition flights can exceed 1800 km

13. Cities Famous for their Pigeons • Stradun – Dubrovnik • Piccadilly Gardens – Manchester • Richard J Daley Center – Chicago • Egyptian Bazaar – Istanbul • George Square – Glasgow • Martin Place – Sydney • Trafalgar Square - London

14. Aesthetic Damage • Called a “feathered rat” by some, the Rock Pigeon is quite popular amongst some people • One Rock Pigeon creates 25 lbs of excrement per year, bombarding streets and buildings with waste • However, Rock Pigeons also clean streets by consuming bread, popcorn, and leftover human wastes • Pigeons located around airports can also be a threat to human safety because of potential bird-aircraft collisions, and are considered a medium priority hazard to jet aircraft by the US Air Force.

15. A Vector of Disease • Rock Pigeons may carry and spread diseases to people and livestock through their droppings. They are known to carry or transmit pigeon ornithosis, encephalitis, Newcastle disease, cryptococcosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella food poisoning, and several other diseases. • The ectoparasites of pigeons include various species of fleas, lice, mites, ticks, and other biting insects, some of which readily bite people. Some insects that inhabit the nests of pigeons are also fabric pests and/or pantry pests. The northern fowl mite found on pigeons is an important poultry pest. • Rock pigeons may pass histoplasmosis (a fungal disease of the lungs) and other diseases through their feces to other birds and humans.

16. Irony in England • Estimates suggest that to clear pigeon droppings from a building a few stories high may cost anything up to 1,000 Pounds a week just for the scaffolding to give pest controllers access to the ledges and windowsills where the birds roost or nest. Pigeons often return again, damaging the same areas. • The ultimate irony of pigeon costs occurs in Trafalgar Square. The Department of the Environment awards licenses to vendors that permit them to sell pigeon feed to tourists at 20 pence a packet. Westminster City Council has to employ three men, working a 16-hour shift over a seven-day period, together with a pedestrian vehicle to wash pigeon droppings from the paved area of Trafalgar Square three times a week - at a cost of 38,725 Pounds each year.

17. Native Pigeons of North America • Many native species of pigeons occur in North America • The most widespread of these is the Mourning Dove (Zenaiduramacroura), named after its loud, soulful cooings. This species occurs widely south of the boreal forest. The Mourning Dove is migratory in the northern parts of its range, although suburban birds can manage to survive the winter if they have access to dependable food at feeders

18. Mourning Dove Winter only (blue), summer only (light green), and year-round (dark green) range

19. Band-tailed Pigeon • All other native pigeons are relatively southern in their distribution. These include: • Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata) • Common Ground Dove (Columbinapasserina) • Inca Dove (Columbinainca) • Red-billed Pigeon (Patagioenasflavirostris) • Ruddy Ground-Dove (Columbinatalpacoti) • Ruddy Quail-Dove (Geotrygonmontana) • White-crowned Pigeon (Columba leucocephala) • White-tipped Dove (Leptotilaverreauxi) • White-winged Dove (Zenaidaasiatica)

20. Common Ground Dove Inca Dove Ruddy Ground-Dove Red-billed Pigeon

21. Ruddy Quail-Dove White-crowned Pigeon White-tipped Dove White-winged Dove

22. Tending and breeding gave Rock Pigeons the enhanced ability to coexist with humans in an urban environment Sadly though, other members within this bird order failed to breed themselves into abundance when faced with buildings and human influence, including the Dodo and Passenger Pigeon

23. Dodo (Raphuscucullatus) Characteristics: wt. est. 30 lbs., flightless, face unfeathered, good runner, probably frugivorous

24. First encounter with Europeans was likely in the late 1500’s when Portuguese merchants stopped to replenish provisions. • Extinct in less than 100 years • Remaining evidence confined to a few bone fragments, bill, skull and a few feathers. • Was extinction prone due to its large size, inability to fly, low reproductive rate, and “gullible” social behavior

25. Passenger Pigeons • Passenger Pigeons (Ectopostesmigratorius) were once the most common bird in North America • They bred in enormous colonies, and during migration, formed large flocks that reportedly took several days to pass a fixed point and blocked the sunlight • It is estimated that up to five billion Passenger Pigeons were still around when the Europeans arrived • Many citizens killed these birds for food and recreation

26. Causes of Decline • When Americans started their westward expansion, a large number of eastern chestnut and oak trees were removed to make way for farms, homesteads, and towns • These eastern chestnut and oak trees were the Passenger Pigeon’s main source of food • Farmers believed the pigeons to be a nuisance species to crops, and persecuted them heavily

27. With the extension of the railroad during the 1850s, pigeons could be easily shipped to city markets in the Eastern U.S. • This greatly increased the losses due to hunting pressure • In combination, their need for social behavior, loss of habitat, hunting for food and nuisance removal led to the demise of the species