The aversion of Capitol maintenance workers to pigeons is matched by the respect the animal generates among some aviary enthusiasts like Karen Purcell, a project leader for Urban Bird Studies/PigeonWatch, a program at Cornell University devoted to studying pigeons.
According to Ms. Purcell, the common feral city pigeon is the descendent of domesticated Asian or African varieties brought by European settlers of North America in the early 1600s. Originally bred for food, its homing ability, and its variety of colors, the pigeons eventually formed their own feral populations.
The group’s Web site provides further details of the life of the city, or rock pigeon, named for its inclination to nest in cliffs or similarly covered building ledges, bridges and freeway overpasses.
The reproductive cycle of pigeons begins with the male bowing before the female pigeon and offering a display of his neck feathers. This is followed by the male spinning in a circle before the courted female and a flaunting of his tail feathers. A successful mating experience, which takes a few seconds, is capped by a short flight by the male, during which he “claps” his wings behind his back in midair.
Pigeon couples are monogamous, at least until the death of a partner, and they carefully divide duties of nest-building and caring for eggs and the young. Females construct the nest. Males gather the required materials — one at a time. Incubation and guarding of the eggs is also a shared task; males sit on the eggs during the day, leaving the night shift for their partners.
Within 17 to 19 days a laid egg will hatch and after a month of dining on a cottage cheese-like substance called “pigeon milk” regurgitated by its parents, the young has gained substantial body mass and is ready to leave home.
“You don’t tend to see baby pigeons because when they leave the nest they can be as big as their parents,” said Ms. Purcell, adding that adult pigeons can be recognized by reddish or orange eyes.
Under ideal conditions, a pigeon couple can create about 12 young pigeons in a year. Sexual maturity is reached at about five months, said John Sills, a bird manager for the Phoenix Zoo.
Physically, pigeons weigh about a pound and are about 13 inches in length. Some enthusiasts of the winged animal can identify up to 28 varieties of “morphs,” or color types or patterns ranging from checkered to striped, or in some cases, even solid albino.
The neck feathers, referred to as “hackle,” are iridescent, meaning they can reflect an especially shiny rainbow of colors not unlike those seen on the surface of a pool of gasoline. The usual colors are green, yellow and purple. The wide variety of pigeons is of great interest to ornithologists intending to discover a reason for such a range and if it helps determines mate selection.
The resourcefulness of the animal, its use to carry supplies or messages, and its ability to survive and adapt are remarkable, said Ms. Purcell.
A ‘neat’ species
“They’re a neat species to get you hooked on birds,” she said.
The capabilities of the pigeon and its differences from other birds are also intriguing to scientists, pigeon aficionados and breeders
Members of the Cornell-based research group believe that pigeons, especially those bred for their sharp homing abilities, are able to detect the Earth’s magnetic fields like a compass. This factor, in addition to the animal’s ability to tell direction from the location of the sun, seems to assist pigeons searching for a location, such as a nest or feeding location.
In terms of distance, pigeons are capable of flying up to 600 miles in a single day at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, though most feral pigeons are fairly reluctant to leave their favored feeding locations, according to the site.
While most other birds hop around the ground, the pigeon “walks” while bobbing its head. They also drink from puddles by using their beaks like a straw, while other species will sip and tilt their heads, allowing the liquid to trickle down their throats.