Diary entry: March 12, 2015, “A banner day for arrival of spring sightings: a pigeon carrying nesting materials; first robin in our yard; dead woodchuck on the road, and in the morning I heard the cooing of a dove.” Not only is the pigeon one of the earliest birds to nest, the pigeon is known to have laid eggs in every month of the year. |
The pigeon belongs to the Columbidae family, which comes from the Latin word columba, meaning either a dove or pigeon. Our word pigeon comes from the old French word pijon and the Italian word piccione, meaning a young piping bird. The word piping comes from the Latin word pipire, meaning to pipe or peep Both doves and pigeons belong to the Columbidae family. The name dove is given to the smaller species with pointed tails; while pigeon is given to members of the family with square or rounded tails; however, there is no technical distinction between doves and pigeons, and the names are often interchangeable.
There are 275 species world wide and 17 species reported in North America. Our common pigeon is the rock dove, with the name rock in reference to the bird’s preferred nesting habit in rocky places when in the wild. Apparently the pigeon was first introduced by the French into North America at Port Royal, Nova Scotia in 1606; Virginia in 1621 and Massachusetts in 1642.
Although a pigeon’s color pattern varies, males and females appear outwardly alike except for the males being slightly larger. Female pigeons have a tendency to hold their tails higher; waddle when walking and are somewhat smaller in size.
The pigeon, which is non-migratory, is one of our swiftest birds in flight. Although tame in our towns and cities, pigeons retain their timidity of wild birds and will take flight at either a quick motion or loud noise. A pigeon’s wing tips collide on takeoff, and once airborne a pigeon glides with wings raised at an angle. Here, in Pennsylvania, pigeons are not protected under our game laws .
Mating season begins early for the pigeons. On February 22, 1989, I wrote in my diary: “Checked a pigeon nest’s today and found one egg and one young, with pinfeathers, that appeared to be about a week old.” On March 8 , 1989, “Checked pigeon nest today and found young pigeon almost fully grown.” On March 15, 1989, “Young pigeon left the nest.”
The rock dove was apparently the first bird to be domesticated, with records showing this occurred about 4500 B.C. At first, the rock dove was raised for the meat; later, the Ancient Romans used the rock dove to carry messages. It has been written that a rock dove carried the news of Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. News of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo reached England by carrier pigeon four days before the news arrived by horse and ship.
During nest building, the female makes a flimsy platform of straw, stems, and sticks from materials brought to her one at a time by the male. Pigeons reuse their nests over and over. Although many birds carry away the feces of their nestlings, the pigeons do not. Over a period time, the result of this will be that the lightweight nest grows into a sturdy, pot-like mound, sometimes incorporating un-hatched eggs and mummies of dead nestlings.
Rock doves breed throughout the warm season. Usually, two eggs are laid in a rough nest. The eggs are incubated for 16 to 19 days. The young are fully fledged (having feathers) and learning to fly by 30 to 37 days after hatching.
Pigeons peck at food on the ground and drink water by using their bills as straws. A male pigeon courts his mate by bowing, cooing, inflating his throat and strutting in a circle around the female. The male and female will preen each other; the male will grasp the female’s bill and regurgitate food into her mouth. This all occurs as a courtship gesture. When ready to mate the female crouches and the males jumps on her back. The male incubates the eggs from mid-morning to late afternoon, and the female takes her turn in late afternoon and overnight to mid-morning. Both parents brood the young and feed them by regurgitating a milky liquid secreted by the lining of the birds' crops.
Each March we hear the cooing of doves; the honking of the geese winging their way north and the calls of the early arriving songbirds. Also, we see the colorful crocuses growing against a foundation wall. Spring has sprung.