Feral Pigeon – Exploring the Facts and Woes of Urban Nomads

Family: Originally from the Northern Hemisphere, the Feral Pigeon (Columba Zivia) is a descendant of the wild rock pigeon. It is a member of the Columbidae family.

Behavior: The Egyptians first domesticated them 5000 years ago, which led to their spread through contact with man. Today, they can be found living wild in many cities and in many rural areas in Australia. Despite living in an urban environment, these wild birds maintain the cliff-dwelling and ledge-nesting habits of their ancestors. The birds deface buildings and public places with their droppings, causing trouble and expense.

DIET: Food scraps found in streets and parks, as well as poultry and other domestic animals’ feed, are the main sources of food for these birds. Other than that, they eat grains. In the wheat-growing regions of southeastern Australia, where large areas of grain crops and stubble exist and where there are many barns and sheds that provide nesting sites, the bird population may be the largest outside the major cities. Farmer-owned birds and feral birds are sometimes hard to distinguish, but no matter where they come from, they are in large numbers.

Habitat: A number of Feral Pigeon colonies nest in rock holes or cliffs along the southern coast, as well as in holes in river red gum trees along inland rivers. Throughout history, many types of feral pigeons have been released and escaped in cities, and the mixed stock of these birds has evolved into a form that is similar to their wild ancestors through cross-breeding and natural selection. Their wings are held in a high ‘V’ as well as flapping and gliding in display flights. It is not possible for domestic pigeons with many specialized forms—fantails, mandarins, tumblers, and so on to survive in the wild. Innumerable color patterns have developed among feral birds over centuries of cross-breeding, from mottled whites to blues and red-browns.

Alternative names: The rock pigeon and domestic pigeon are also names for this bird.

Size: An average Feral Pigeon measures between 340 and 360 mm in length.

Identification: Neither sex differs greatly from the other. Feral domestic pigeons resemble ancestral rock pigeons, which are blue-gray in color. There is a purple and green display sheen on the neck. It has a white lower back and a dark grey lower rump. There are two conspicuous black bars across the closed wing. There is, however, a broad black band near the tail’s end. The underwing is white. Orange is the color of the eyes. The bill is black; the cere is white or grey. There is a reddish color on the legs and feet. There are a number of feral domestic pigeons, among them: ‘checkers’ with black wings and dark grey plumage; ‘mealies”, cream-grey spotted with brown and white; ‘reds’, mixed red and brown, with gray and white; ‘blacks’, dusky black; and ‘pieds’, blotched white with any other color.

IMMATURES: Resemble females, but with reduced iridescence.

DOWNY YOUNG: It is usually yellow.

Sounds: Display calls sound mostly like a moaning coo, while advertising calls sound like a coo-coo-coo.

NESTING & BREEDING: Buildings are damaged when their nesting material is washed into gutters and downpipes. The wasteful habits of humans support the pigeons paradoxically. All seasons are favorable for pigeon breeding, but summer is the most popular time. All flat surfaces are suitable for nesting, including ledges and buildings, cornices, ceilings, understructures of bridges, rock holes, and tree hollows. Straws are loosely arranged around eggs laid on a bare surface.

EGGS: Feral pigeon laid two glossy white eggs, which are oval, about 39 x 28 mm. Incubation lasts approximately 17–9 days for both sexes; several successive broods are laid. Young fledge in 32–35 days.

Distribution: As a species of man, the feral pigeon has spread throughout the southern and eastern halves of Australia. Wild rock pigeons are found in Ireland, Scotland, the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands, eastern Europe, the Mediterranean region, Arabia, India and Sri Lanka, Turkestan, Africa north of the equator, and western Asia; closely related forms are found in the rest of Asia. The number of races is 14, but there is probably one found in Australia, with multiple varieties.

Predators: The predators of the feral pigeon have been recorded, including Eurasian sparrowhawks, Peregrine falcons, crows, and gulls.

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