Ever wondered why you’ve never seen a baby pigeon? Well, wonder no more as one expert has explained exactly why that is.
Now, first things first, if you haven’t even wondered about the lack of baby pigeons, I want you to do me a favour and have a think about the last time you were out and saw a flock of our feathered friends hanging around together?
You thinking about it, yeah? Now try and recall if there was a baby or juvenile amongst their winged ranks - I bet you there wasn’t.
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Because young pigeons are an elusive beast. So much so that you can easily go through life without ever seeing one in the flesh.
But why is that?
Debra Kriensky, a conservation biologist with New York City Audubon Society, has the answer - and it’s actually pretty straightforward.
Speaking to IFLScience back in 2017, Kriensky explained: “By the time they leave the nest, they are already quite large and resemble adult birds more than they do chicks.”
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Oh right. Makes sense. I’m not really sure why I thought it would be something more exciting than this, to be honest.
Kriensky went on to point out that baby pigeons are ready to fly the nest within around 25 to 32 days, meaning there's actually a pretty small window for you to see one of the babies before it becomes indistinguishable from an adult pigeon.
And for anyone wondering how the little birds look compared to their adult counterparts, Martin Fowlie of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) added: “Pigeons are born naked and need to grow feathers before they can leave the nest.
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“They remain in their nests until they are able to fly like other nest building species.” Fair enough.
Oh, and on the off chance you do see a baby pigeon, it’s likely that the poor little dude has fallen out of its nest and could probably do with a hand to ensure it doesn’t die.
Kriensky said: “We do see a fair amount of babies that fall out of the nest before they are big enough to fly and fend for themselves.
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“In those cases, chicks should be returned to their nest, a makeshift nest nearby if possible, or brought to a wildlife rehabilitator.”
So there you go - I don’t know about you but I reckon I’ll sleep better tonight knowing this.
Claire Reid