Why pigeons live in cities

Could prettier species that would also thrive be introduced? Patrick Raleigh, London, UK Feral pigeons are only one of several species that are extremely well adapted to urban living. Starlings although they are in a population dip at present are comparably numerous and are certainly very pretty when you see them close up. Other attractive urban or semi-urban species include a wide range of tits and finches along with Robins, Magpies, Jays, collared doves, thrushes, woodpeckers, herons, a wide range of wildfowl and, in the south-east, ring-necked parakeets.

There are a number of lovely raptors birds of prey which are doing very well in towns and cities, including Kestrels, Sparrowhawks and Peregrine falcons the last of these nested in Regent's Park last year.

Some specialised habitats within inner city areas such as the WWT reserve at Barn Elms attract some very rare and beautiful birds, such as the mysterious Bittern.

But, to get back to the point about pigeons, in order to understand why they thrive in places like Trafalgar Square, we need to consider their natural history. Feral pigeons are descended largely from the Rock Dove which still lives in its pure form on the rocky north and west coasts of the UK and Ireland.

However, in the course of human history, they became crossed with a variety of domestic breed of dove which explains the varied plumages seen in feral pigeons. The genes from these domesticated breeds presumably made the birds more inclined to living close to humans. Couple this with the species' innate preference for tall, rocky cliffs or similar, such as the sort of buildings found in city centres and it is understandable why they end up concentrated in places like Trafalgar Square, especially as tourists seem happy to encourage them with scraps of food.

As for how long there have been large pigeon populations in city centres, I'm not sure, but I would be willing to bet that they have been around about as long as the tall stone buildings have. Max Wurr, Stanmore, UK Pigeons Rock Doves adapt well to cities because they find there habitat similar to the cliffs where they live in the wild.

If we were prepared to capture and eat them not recommended today for health reasons their populations would be much smaller of course. In Ottawa, Canada, a program of systematic poisioning by the municipal government and by owners of skycrapers has reduced the pigeon population quite dramatically. But the most abundant source comes directly from humans.

Millions upon millions of people have to eat every day. They produce tons upon tons of food, some of which gets thrown away and some is simply dropped by accident or falls to the ground as debris.

Pigeons have learned to adapt to our fast food and throwaway society, on which they are thriving. Buildings absorb warmth from heating systems during the day and release it at night, thus helping to keep pigeons warm during the cold winter months. The residual heat from millions of vehicles also adds to the all-around temperatures in the cities.

During times of harsh weather when the temperatures drop, it rains or chill winds blow, there are plenty of shelters to find. Of course, for the cultured pigeon, cities have the advantages of theatres, cinemas, art galleries, musical concerts, and the finest restaurants, especially the bins behind the restaurants.

While pigeons are granivorous birds, most types will supplement their diet with insects including ants. The Old Dutch Capuchine pigeon is a breed of fancy pigeon known for its distinctive head crest and hood. It is kept for ornamental and exhibition purposes and makes a good pet. Origins of Skip to content. Thanks for visiting Pigeonpedia.. Pigeons live in cities for the same reasons as humans.

They have been admired, bred for their beauty and also bred for food. Mans Relationship With Pigeons Pigeons are believed to be the first wild bird species to become domesticated by man. This has created an interspecies relationship that has endured for centuries upon centuries.

They peck at the pavement; they coo overhead; they swoop in hundreds across town squares: Pigeons have become such a permanent fixture in our urban landscapes that cities would seem oddly vacant without them. But while many people harbor resentment for these ubiquitous creatures — labeling them "rats with wings" — few of us stop to ponder how pigeons became so numerous in the first place, and what our own role in their urban colonization might be.

Today, in fact, there are more than million pigeons worldwide, most of which live in cities. But that wasn't always the case. The city pigeons we know today are actually descended from a wild creature known as the rock dove Columba livia : As its name suggests, this bird prefers a rocky coastal cliff habitat to the conveniences of city life. But going as far back as 10, years ago, written and fossil records show that people living in ancient Mesopotamia modern-day Iraq and Egypt began coaxing these doves with food into human-inhabited areas, encouraging them to roost and breed on their land.

The plump, young birds especially — known as "squabs" — became a prized source of protein and fat. People then began domesticating and breeding the birds for food, creating subspecies that led to the diversity of urban pigeons known today. Along the way, humans began to realize that pigeons were useful for much more than their meat.