Birds are animals that frequent my house. Different species visit often but the pigeons are the most common.

The word Pigeon comes from the Latin word pipio meaning “peeping chick” They belong to a bird family called Columbidae, consisting of pigeons and doves. Pigeons are found almost everywhere in the world except for the cold regions of Antarctic, Arctic and the Sahara deserts. They have large ranges which increased due to domestication. They are estimated to be around 400 million pigeons in the world, many living in cities, the most populous being the feral pigeon.

Pigeons breed all year round and all throughout their lifetime. They make nests on roofs of buildings or coastal cliffs. What I love the most about these animals is the parental care given to their squab or chick. The female usually lays two eggs which are incubated by both parents for about 18days, after which they hatch into cute little chicks. Both parents feed their offspring with crop milk, secreted from the lining of their crops. Generally, pigeons can live for fifteen years or more in captivity but can hardly live up to three years in urban populations.

A good number of its subspecies are facing endangerment or extinction. This is attributed to the fact that they are hunted for their meat and killed by pest control industries.

Interesting facts about pigeons

v Pigeons were used to relay messages across enemy lines during the First and Second World Wars. They saved thousands of lives as a result.

v Baby pigeons are seldom seen because they remain in their nests till they mature enough to take care of themselves.

v They can see colour in the same way as humans except that they can also see ultraviolet rays!

v Passenger pigeons were wiped out from the face of earth completely in the 20^th century. This was highly unexpected because there were 3-5 billion passenger pigeons then but the cause of their tragic end was overhunting.

v They can find their way back to their nests from 1300 miles!

Pigeons may seem ordinary but are really extraordinary birds. Someday, I’ll have one as a pet!

References

https://www.pigeoncontrolresourcecentre.org/html/amazing-pigeon-facts.html

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/535506/facts-about-pigeons