Pigeons have much more occurring that you simply may assume
I had at all times felt ambivalent in the direction of pigeons. Pigeons are in all places in London, the place I dwell, and that made them fade into the background for me. I didn’t hate them, however neither did I take any specific curiosity in them.
Then an opportunity encounter set me questioning if I may be taught to like the standard pidge, a query that I spent a few of this 12 months delving into. As I began my analysis, I stumbled upon pigeon reality after pigeon reality that basically stunned me. Listed here are just a few of these information – they simply may change the best way you concentrate on these much-maligned metropolis birds.
1. Pigeons produce ‘milk’
It’s odd to think about pigeons producing milk, but it surely’s true. It doesn’t come from a mammary gland, however as a substitute a particular space of cells within the decrease oesophagus referred to as the crop, and grownup pigeons regurgitate it for his or her younger for the primary 10 days after they hatch. Though it’s yellower and extra strong than what we’d consider as milk, it has an identical mix of vitamins and immune-boosting properties. A number of different species of chook produce this “crop milk” too, together with penguins and flamingos.
2. They make hilariously unhealthy nests
Maybe my favorite factor about pigeons is that they make actually terrible nests – suppose just a few sticks positioned within the approximate neighborhood of an egg. There may be even an account on X that paperwork them referred to as Unhealthy Pigeon Nests. Exterior of cities, pigeons would naturally have nested amongst rocks, so wouldn’t have…
