Our most prevalent urban birds, pigeons are descendants of rock doves who can now only be found in the outlying islands and headlands in northwest Scotland. The feral pigeon, however, is the same species. Pigeons and doves are members of the same family, the Columbidae, and there are six species native to Britain. There is very little difference between pigeons and doves, apart from the name and their connotations.

The rock dove is most at home on cliffs and rocky ledges, so pigeons choose to perch on buildings and window ledges rather than in trees because these are more similar to their natural habitat.

Wildlife in the Cities
Pigeons have made themselves at home in towns and cities and, for many people, are the nearest they come to living alongside wild animals. Pigeons are certainly amiable; they are very useful street cleaners, clearing away food dropped by humans.

Pigeon Relationships
Pigeons mate for life, but courtship can continue all year long. The male brings nesting materials to his mate, a single piece at a time, and she builds the nest. Birds share parenting duties. A hen usually lays two eggs, which she sits on at night, and the male takes his turn during the day. Baby pigeons walk at 18 days and start to exercise their wings one week later. Because they have been fed regularly by their parents and have had little exercise, by the time they start learning to fly (at around 30 days old), they are often bigger than their parents!

Amazing Abilities
• Pigeons have excellent eyesight. They can see in colour and can even see ultraviolet light, which humans cannot. Their eyesight makes them highly valued in human search-and-rescue missions.

• Pigeons’ sense of hearing is also extremely acute, with a wider range than that of humans. They can hear sounds in lower frequencies than humans can, including the rumble of distant volcanoes and thunderstorms.

• Pigeon communication isn’t confined to vocal sounds. Babies make nonvocal sounds such as bill snapping and hissing, and adult males make clapping sounds with their wings after mating.

• Although most birds take water into their beaks and tip their heads back to allow the water to trickle in, pigeons suck up the water as if through a straw.

• Pigeons walk, rather than hopping, as many other birds do, and can fly at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.

• Experts believe that pigeons are able to detect the Earth’s magnetism, and this helps them to orientate themselves and find their way home.

• Pigeons can live for as long as 20 years.

Intelligence
Pigeons are very intelligent and able to calculate distance and direction. They configure landmarks in their minds so that they are able to distinguish one from another; for example, they may encode one as the “top left one” of a group.

Because they learn tasks quickly, can concentrate on a visual task for hours and have excellent vision, pigeons are used for helping with air-sea rescues. In trials, pigeons spotted an orange float the size of a person wearing a life-jacket about 90 per cent of the time. Humans spotted the same float just 38 per cent of the time.

Pigeons’ navigational abilities, which are largely dependent on keen vision and a superlative memory for topographic details, are legendary. Researchers recently discovered that pigeons also navigate using human-made landmarks such as roads and roundabouts. Though they use their own navigational systems on long flights or when travelling a new route, it is easier for them to fly down roads and turn off at junctions on routine journeys.

India’s Police Pigeon Service was vital in helping combat the devastation of floods and cyclones in recent years. After more than 50 years of reliance on these amazing, intelligent and brave birds, the advent of e-mail has finally made their services redundant. Their unique qualities led pigeons to become wartime heroes as they carried messages from the front lines back to base. More than 100,000 pigeons were used to carry messages during World War I, with more than 95 per cent reaching their targets.

The Myth of Disease
The most widespread misconception about urban pigeons is that they are dirty and carry disease. In fact, if you watch pigeons for any length of time, you will see them bathing and preening in order to keep themselves clean.

Of course, any bird or animal droppings can harbour diseases, just as humans’ can, and it is wise to wash your hands after handling any wild (or domestic) animal. However, in 1995, a statement by the Association of Pigeon Veterinarians said, “[T]o our knowledge, the raising, keeping and the exercising of pigeons and doves represents no more of a health hazard than the keeping of other communal or domestic pets.” Guy Merchant, director of The Pigeon Control Advisory Service, said: “If we believed everything we read in the media about pigeons and the farcical propaganda distributed by the pest control industry we would never leave our homes. The fact of the matter is that there is probably a greater risk to human health from contact with domestic pets such as cats, dogs and caged birds.” In 2000, the chief veterinary officer told the House of Lords that the pigeons in Trafalgar Square did not pose a health threat to humans.

There is no evidence that diseases such as salmonellosis, tuberculosis and ornithosis have been passed from pigeons to humans, and yet the myths remain. Pest control companies charge pigeons with transmitting histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis, psittacosis, cryptococcosis, salmonellosis, meningitis, tuberculosis and encephalitis. And this could give us a clue as to why we hear so much about pigeons and disease. The Pigeon Control Advisory Service believes that this is because pest control is a multibillion-pound industry and that it is in the best interests of that business to keep the public scared of pigeons.

In reality, birds such as chickens who are raised in crowded conditions in factory farms are far more likely to infect humans with both salmonellosis and toxoplasmosis than pigeons are.

Humane Pigeon Control
Pigeons and other birds settle in areas that suit their needs. Therefore, an effective pigeon-control programme consists of making the designated area as uninviting as possible. For starters, don’t feed the birds, and eliminate food and litter from the area.

Very simple modifications in a building’s structure can discourage birds from landing or nesting on the building. Open areas, such as vents, lofts, or eaves, can be sealed up to prevent pigeons from nesting in the holes. Netting and wire mesh prevent birds from accessing ledges and recesses in buildings. Bird barriers, including a thin metal coil resembling a “Slinky” toy, can be fastened to a building ledge to discourage birds from landing. Very long ribbons printed with holograms of owls’ eyes have also been used to deter pigeons.

Conditioning birds to avoid an area should be done as early as possible in order to effectively discourage the birds from settling in. Recorded pigeon distress calls are available to warn birds away. Loud noises, such as radios or wind chimes, can be effective, as are visual deterrents such as revolving lights, mirrors or effigies of predator birds. When conditioning birds to avoid an area, it is important to vary the deterrents so that the pigeons do not become accustomed to the noises, mirrors, etc.

Providing dovecotes for them to nest in at an alternative, more suitable site can reduce bird numbers by as much as 50 per cent in three to four years.

The anti-perching product “Hot Foot,” a jelly-like substance that is applied to perching sites to discourage birds, is not recommended. Birds can become stuck and sometimes dislocate legs in an effort to free themselves. Their wings may stick to their bodies, causing them to fall when they try to fly. They could also ingest the substance while trying to clean themselves and then die of poisoning.

Killing Pigeons Does Not Work
Killing pigeons, either by poisoning or by shooting, is not a humane way to control numbers, nor is it effective in keeping numbers down. Killing adult pigeons gives the younger birds a better chance of survival and allows breeding to continue. In a matter of weeks, numbers can quickly return to pre-cull figures.

Any successful method of bird control must concentrate on prevention and making the location inhospitable to birds.