Pigeon Info

Latin Name: Columba livia (‘dove’ or ‘bird of leaden or blue-grey colour’).

Common Names: Pigeon, dove, blue rock pigeon, rock dove, wild rock pigeon, rock pigeon, feral pigeon.

Derivation: The word ‘pigeon’ is derived from the Latin word ‘pipio’, meaning ‘young cheeping bird’. The word ‘dove’ is of Norse origin and first appeared in the 14th century as ‘dova’ or ‘douve’.

Bird Order: Columbiformes

Family: Columbidae (includes 315 different species)

Subspecies: C. l. livia, C. l. atlantis, C. l. canariensis, C. l. gymnocyclus, C. l. targia, C. l. nigricans, C. l. dakhlae, C. l. schimperi, C. l. intermedia, C. l. palaestinae, C. l. gaddi, C. l. neglecta

Varieties: 350 recorded varieties.

Most Common: Feral Pigeon – 10-15 million in Europe.

Origin: Europe, North Africa and Asia.

Habitat: The wild pigeon is found in coastal areas and the feral pigeon is found almost exclusively in areas of human habitation.

Distribution: Worldwide except Sahara Desert, Antarctica and the high Arctic. European population estimated at between 17 and 28 million birds.

Description (adult of the nominate subspecies of the rock pigeon):

32-37 cm long
64-72 cm wingspan
Dark bluish-grey head, neck and chest with glossy greenish and reddish-purple iridescence around the neck and wing feathers
Orange or red iris with pale inner ring (adult) or brown or greyish brown (juveniles)
Black bill with off-white cere
Red feet and legs
Distinctive twin black wing bars
White lower back feathers

Reproduction:

Breeds all year round with peak breeding periods in spring and summer
All columbiformes are monogamous (mate for life)
Wild birds breed on coastal cliffs and some inland cliffs
Feral birds breed on or in buildings, usually in urban areas
Flimsy nest built on rocky shelf (wild) or accessible ledge on a building or in the roof void of a building (feral)
Two white eggs that are incubated by both parents for 17-19 days
The squab (chick) has yellow down and a pink bill
Squabs are fed on ‘crop milk’ by both parents
Fledging period is approximately 30 days depending on time of year
Pigeons can breed at 6 months of age

Pigeon nest and 2 eggs

Pigeon squab and egg

Squab 0ne day old

Diet: Seeds form the major component of the diet, but it varies greatly according to species. Some ground feeding species (granivorous species) eat fruit and take insects and worms. One species, the Atoll Fruit Dove, has adapted to taking insects and small reptiles. The feral pigeon found in urban areas exists exclusively on a diet of seed (normally from human sources) and human refuse, such as fast food waste. Wood pigeons have a varied diet which includes vegetables and berries.

Life Expectancy: Varies greatly from 3-5 years through to 15 years dependent on many factors, including natural predation and human interference.

Predation: The wild pigeon is predated upon, almost exclusively, by the peregrine falcon, a bird that is also found living and breeding in coastal regions. The sparrowhawk may also predate on the wild pigeon. The feral pigeon has few if any natural predators, with man being the main threat to the bird in areas of human habitation.

Characteristics and Attributes:

Pigeons can fly at altitudes of 6000 feet or more
Pigeons can fly at average speeds of up to 77.6 mph but have been recorded flying at 92.5 mph
Pigeons can fly between 600 and 700 miles in a single day, with the longest recorded flight in the 19th century taking 55 days between Africa and England and covering 7000 miles
Pigeons are thought to navigate by sensing the earth’s magnetic field and using the sun for direction. Other theories include the use of roads and even low frequency seismic waves to find their way home
Pigeons (and all the columbidae family) drink by sucking water and using their beaks like straws. Most birds sip water and then throw their head back to swallow
Pigeons, like humans, can see in color, but unlike humans they can also see ultraviolet light, a part of the spectrum that humans cannot see. As a result, pigeons are often used in search and rescue missions at sea because of this unique sense combined with excellent all-round vision
Pigeons have been found to pass the ‘mirror test’, the ability to recognize its own reflection in a mirror. The pigeon is one of only 6 species, and the only non-mammal, to have this ability
Pigeons are highly intelligent and can recognize all 26 letters of the alphabet as well as being able to conceptualize. Pigeons can differentiate between photographs and even two different human beings in a single photograph.

Domestication of the Rock Dove:

The first mention of the domestication of the rock dove was found in Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets (pictographical writing on clay tablets) dating back over 5000 years. However, it is likely that rock doves were domesticated by Neolithic man as far back as 10,000 years ago in and around the alluvial plains of the Tigris and Euphrates. It was at this time that Neolithic man was starting to cultivate cereal crops and domesticate animals for food. In pre-history it is likely that rock doves lived alongside man in caves and on cliff faces.

Images of pigeons were first found on the reconstructed façade of an excavated temple dedicated to the goddess Ninhursag (Queen of Heaven and Earth) at Al’Ubaid in Sumeria in 3000 BC. Many more clay images of pigeons have been found during excavations of sites in Iraq and Crete dating back to 3000 BC. During the excavation of an Egyptian tomb in 3000 BC, the bones of pigeons were found in what is thought to have been the remains of a funerary meal. Although images of the pigeon have been found dating as far back as 3000 BC, it is not clear what role the pigeon played in these ancient civilisations and to what extent the bird was domesticated.

Later, in 1100 BC, King Rameses III sacrificed 57,000 pigeons to the god Ammon at Thebes, confirming that the pigeon was well on the way to being domesticated not only for food but also for religious purposes. Mention of pigeon sacrifices can also be found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The pigeon is probably best known for its ability to return ‘home’ from long distances and has been used extensively by man for this purpose. The earliest reference to the pigeon being used to carry messages dates back to 2500 BC and the tradition has continued throughout history. The Romans and ancient Greeks used the pigeon extensively for carrying messages and the first sophisticated messaging service was established in Syria and Persia in the 12th century AD, with messages being carried by pigeons from city to city.

Later, in the 19th century, the pigeon was used for commercial purposes, carrying messages for financial institutions and news agencies in Europe and even providing an airmail service in New Zealand. In the 20th century, pigeons were used extensively in both Great Wars to carry messages, and as a result of their bravery and heroism, tens of thousands of human lives were saved. The last messaging service using pigeons was disbanded in 2006 by the police force in the city of Orrisa, India.

Dedicated pigeon houses, or dovecotes, were believed to have existed in very early times in southern Palestine and later in Egypt in 44 BC.

However, a detailed and well-preserved Roman mosaic dating from 200 BC shows a dovecote with a thatched roof in which there are numerous flight holes with pigeons perching both on the roof and flying above it. This confirms that the pigeon was being bred in dedicated facilities over 2200 years ago. The Sicilian historian Diadorous, writing about the period circa 300 BC, also described a mud building with a reed thatched roof that was used to house domesticated pigeons, further confirming that organised domestication had been established in this period.

The dovecote has played an essential role in the domestication of the pigeon throughout history, with facilities ranging from extremely crude early examples in the form of basic clay pots through to highly ornate detached buildings housing many thousands of birds in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Pigeons were housed and bred within these structures for food, their excrement (which was used as fertiliser and as an ingredient for gunpowder), sport and as messengers. The tradition of housing pigeons in man-made structures continued until the 20th century and is described in more detail in the Dovecotes article.

The pigeon was domesticated not only for its ability to return home and as a source of food and by-products, but also for the purposes of sport. Man has found many sporting uses for the pigeon throughout history, with the earliest known example being the sport of Triganieri. It is unclear when this ancient sport first started, but the early Greeks and Romans are believed to have participated in it. The sport involves each participant using captive pigeons, released from several pigeon lofts or dovecotes at the same time, and to lure as many birds as possible away from adjoining lofts using specially trained pigeons. The captured birds were either killed or held for ransom. This sport has continued through the centuries and is still played today. In the Turkish city of Urfa the sport involves over 500 flocks in a single event.

Other sporting uses for the pigeon included the use of falconry, known as the ‘Sport of Kings’, where both domesticated and wild pigeons were killed for sport. The sport is believed to have started prior to the 10th century AD. At the end of the 17th century, with the advent of the shotgun, falconry dwindled in popularity, but a new, more deadly sport took its place – pigeon shooting. In the Middle East, domesticated pigeons are still used today as bait for falconers.

Organized pigeon shoots started in the 18th century where huge numbers of domesticated birds were released and shot at point-blank range. Incredibly, the sport continues today in the USA where huge numbers of feral pigeons are cage-trapped by unscrupulous pest controllers and netted by illegal gangs and then sold to shooting clubs. The birds are then released in front of shooters, many with semi-automatic weapons, and shot at point-blank range.

Probably the most common use for the domesticated pigeon today is pigeon racing, a sport that is popular in virtually every country in the world. It is not known when pigeon racing for sport first started, probably in very early history, but pigeon racing as we know it today first started in Belgium in 1850. The sport grew in popularity and peaked in 1960, when there were 170,000 pigeon fanciers in the UK alone. Today the sport is in decline, but pigeons that are considered to be good breeding stock can exchange hands for as much as £65,000.

The Pigeon as an Icon and Symbol:

Since its domestication many thousands of years ago, the pigeon has been revered by many religions, including Hindu, Islam, Christian and Sikh. Although Neolithic man (circa 8500 BC onwards) undoubtedly domesticated the rock dove, there is little indication that the bird was used for anything but food.

The first historical indication of there being religious significance associated with the domesticated pigeon was in 3000 BC during excavations of temples and tombs in Egypt, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and Crete. Images of pigeons were first found in an excavated temple dedicated to the goddess Ninhursag (Queen of Heaven and Earth) at Al’Ubaid in Sumeria. On the reconstructed façade of the temple, a limestone frieze was found showing a row of sitting pigeons. Another discovery, found in Copper/Bronze Age tombs (3rd/4th millennium BC) excavated on the island of Cyprus, revealed large number of clay bowls, some decorated with doves. These closely resemble similar clay bowls found on the island of Crete. The bowls are thought to have been used for sacrificial worship or have some other religious significance.

Excavations of tombs dating back to 1600 BC at Mycenae in southern Greece revealed two ornaments that depict doves. One is of a goddess holding a dove in either hand, and another perched on her head, and the other depicts an altar upon which doves are perched. Another excavation in Canaan (modern day Israel and Lebanon) dating back to 1200 BC found a terracotta relief depicting a Dove-goddess holding a dove in either hand. Further examples have been excavated from Canaanite temples dating between to 1100-1300 BC, one showing a model of a shrine shaped roughly like a dovecote with pigeons sitting within the dovecote holes. These examples not only confirm the religious significance of the dove in early history but also confirm that the dove was bred in dedicated dovecote facilities for religious worship. The pigeon was used as a sacrifice in early history, with King Rameses III, King of Egypt, sacrificing 57,000 pigeons to the god Ammon at Thebes in 1100 BC.

Pigeons in Judaism and Christianity

The dove features strongly in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and references to frequent sacrifices exist in both. There are a number of references to the sacrifice of doves in the Talmud, a series of Jewish texts compiled between AD 250-500. Although the texts were compiled in AD 250-500, they are thought to relate to much earlier periods. The texts not only describe the sacrifices but also how the sacrificial birds should be reared and the correct ways of killing them. The dove is better known for its part in the Old Testament story of the Great Flood, however, when one returned to Noah with an olive branch. As a result, the dove has always been linked with peace and good news and is still released at the start of the Olympic Games today for this reason.

The Romans had a great affinity with the pigeon and although they sacrificed the dove to the goddess Venus, and therefore revered the bird, they also bred different varieties and used the pigeon widely as a messenger. Historian and philosopher Caius Pliny, writing in the 1st century AD, says: “Many people have quite a mania for pigeons, building turrets for them on house roofs and tracing the pedigrees of single birds…”. The pigeon is commonly depicted throughout the Roman period but never in more detail than the superb Dove Mosaic discovered during the 18th century at Emperor Hadrian’s Villa. Another detailed mosaic, dating from 200 BC, shows a priest beside a shrine with an adjoining dovecote. The dovecote is detailed with pigeons on the roof and flying above it. This mosaic further confirms the connection between worship and the breeding of pigeons.

Pigeons and Islam

Islam has had strong associations with the pigeon throughout history and that association continues today with large flocks being found in the holy city of Mecca, where breeding sites are provided for the birds and where pilgrims to Mecca purchase grain to feed them.to be Fed . At the shrine of Mohammed in Medina (western Saudi Arabia) the thousands of pigeons that gather there are commonly referred to as the ‘Prophet’s birds’. Pigeon racing and fancying is still a popular sport in the Muslim world and the breed of pigeon known as the ‘Arabian Laughter’ is believed to have been introduced by Mohammed and is still bred today.