Pigeons in the News Archives - Page 26 of 152 - Pigeon Patrol Canada

Contesting Tradition: The Deep Play and Protest of Pigeon Shoots

by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 27, 2021 | Bird Netting, Columbidae, Doves, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows

Pigeon shoots are examples of “contested traditions” that invite comparison with other controversial spectacles of killing animals, such as cockfights and dogfights. In the United States during the late twentieth century, mass protests of America’s largest public pigeon shoot occurred in Hegins, Pennsylvania. This article offers a folkloristic perspective on the contested tradition by analyzing how the protest rhetorically served to present tradition as a “problem” in the ethical modernization of society. The clash between animal rights protestors and supporters of the shoot became a moral drama based on a clash of rural and cosmopolitan values in modern America that derives from fundamentally different views of human dominion over the land and its creatures. The interpretation of the event hinges on a semiotic layering that takes into ethnographic consideration the different meanings of symbols for various participants in the event. Compromise became impossible in controversies over pigeon shoots because the sides perceived symbols so differently. For protestors, the shooters represented predatory, phallocentric rapists who promoted violence for its own sake, whereas, for supporters, they symbolized a pioneer and biblical heritage based on human dominion over the bountiful land. For protestors, the process of the ritualized shoot perpetuated cycles of abuse and patriarchy; for protestors, it acted to regenerate the land, confirming the wholesomeness of agrarianism. The pigeons could be symbolized as profane, dirty pests or sacred doves of peace. The widely publicized controversy implied larger questions, and fundamental conflicts in America, about the role of tradition in modernity.

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Scientists give extinct passenger pigeon a place on the family tree

by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 19, 2021 | Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control

With bits of DNA extracted from century-old museum specimens, researchers have found a place for the extinct Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) in the family tree of pigeons and doves, identifying this unique bird’s closest living avian relatives for the first time. The new analysis, which appears this month in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, reveals that the Passenger Pigeon was most closely related to other North and South American pigeons, and not to the Mourning Dove, as was previously suspected.

“This research demonstrates the remarkable potential of DNA to answer questions about species that no longer populate our planet,” says Dr. Jack Dumbacher, Curator of Ornithology at the California Academy of Sciences. “The Passenger Pigeon has been extinct for almost 100 years, but with the help of museum specimens and DNA analysis, we’re still learning new information about the bird’s evolutionary history and its place on the tree of life.”

Naturalists have long lamented that one of North America’s most spectacular birds was also one of the first to be driven to extinction by humans. In the early 1800s, the Passenger Pigeon was the most abundant bird species on the planet, even though its range was limited to the eastern and central forests of the United States and parts of eastern Canada. Flocks of Passenger Pigeons included millions of birds–they were so vast that they darkened swaths of the sky up to a mile wide.

Passenger Pigeons followed their food, settling down in forests that periodically produced a superabundance of acorns and chestnuts. The pigeons nested in dense colonies covering hundreds of acres. This made them easy targets for human predators. Intensive pigeon hunting in the mid-to-late 19th century disrupted the birds’ ability to breed. These hunting sprees, coupled with habitat destruction, rapidly drove the Passenger Pigeon to extinction. (The last of her kind, a Passenger Pigeon named Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.)

To find the Passenger Pigeon’s place in the evolutionary history of pigeons and doves, Dumbacher and his colleagues compared sequences from two of its mitochondrial genes with those of 78 species of pigeons and doves from around the world. Their analysis revealed a surprising result. Most scientists had assumed that the Passenger Pigeon’s closest relative was the Mourning Dove, a smaller species that shared the Passenger Pigeon’s relatively long tail. However, the DNA comparison showed that the extinct bird’s closest living relative is the Band-Tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata), a bird that is commonly found in California.

North America’s largest pigeon, the Band-Tailed Pigeon is distinguished not only by its large size but by its distinctive coloring, with yellow legs, a patch of iridescent greenish-bronze feathers on its neck, and a yellow bill with a black tip. Despite its large size, the bird is surprisingly adept at feeding on berries and seeds in the tops of trees. In northern California, it is found in mixed evergreen forests and redwood forests.

The research team was lead by Kevin Johnson, an ornithologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois. Additional team members included Jack Dumbacher from the California Academy of Sciences, Dale Clayton from the University of Utah, and Robert Fleischer from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Testing pigeon memory in a change detection task

by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 19, 2021 | Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons

Six pigeons were trained in a change detection task with four colors. They were shown two colored circles on a sample array, followed by a test array with the color of one circle changed. The pigeons learned to choose the changed color and transferred their performance to four unfamiliar colors, suggesting that they had learned a generalized concept of color change. They also transferred performance to test delays several times their 50-msec training delay without prior delay training. The accurate delay performance of several seconds suggests that their change detection was memory based, as opposed to a perceptual attentional capture process. These experiments are the first to show that an animal species (pigeons, in this case) can learn a change detection task identical to ones used to test human memory, thereby providing the possibility of directly comparing short-term memory processing across species.

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Wartime hero pigeon Paddy honoured with fly-past

by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 19, 2021 | Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News

One of Northern Ireland’s smallest World War II heroes has been honoured.

Paddy, a messenger pigeon who served with the RAF during the Normandy operations in June 1944, was remembered in his home town of Larne on Friday.

PDSA, Britain’s biggest veterinary charity, awarded Paddy the Dickin Medal, dubbed the animals’ “Victoria Cross”, 65 years ago this month.

He received it for being the fastest pigeon to reach England with a coded message from the battle-front beaches of Normandy.

The brave bird brought back vital information about the Allies’ progress, flying 230 miles in four hours 50 minutes – the fastest time of any of the messenger pigeons involved in the mission with an average speed of 56mph.

PDSA spokesman James Puxty said: “Paddy’s contribution to the D-Day operations was a credit to the thousands of messenger pigeons donated by the racing pigeon fraternity for service during World War II.

“He was one of 32 brave, feathered heroes that received the PDSA Dickin Medal for their life-saving flights during the war, and the only recipient from Northern Ireland.”

Local hero

Paddy was born and raised in Carnlough and joined thousands of other racing birds who were trained and drafted to RAF Hurn in Hampshire for military service.

Impressing military brass with his flying in the Air-Sea rescue units he was seconded to the United States First Army for undercover missions during the Normandy Landings.

In the face of poor weather conditions and the threat of German falcons, deployed to intercept Paddy and his comrades, he delivered his message to his home loft at RAF Hurn.

After the war Paddy returned to Carnlough and lived out his days with his owner Captain Andrew Hughes, until his death in 1954.

A memorial to the winged hero was erected in Carnlough harbour.

A feathered fly-past of pigeons formed part of the Paddy Memorial Day event held at Larne Museum and Arts Centre.

Larne Borough Council and the town’s historical society were joined by guests from PDSA and the owner of Paddy’s PDSA Dickin Medal, former Irish Army officer Kevin Spring.

Younger guests were entertained by Gail Seekamp, the children’s author, who read from her book “Paddy the Pigeon”.

The Dickin Medal was introduced in 1943 by Maria Dickin, PDSA’s founder. She wanted to recognise the gallantry and devotion to duty of animals serving with the Armed Forces and Civil Defence units during WWII.

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Where do pigeons go to die? All you need to know

by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 12, 2021 | Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows

All animals go through the circle of life, they are born (or hatched in the case of pigeons) live and die. But where do pigeons go to die? This article goes into it.

Pigeons look for dark secluded spaces to die. This includes holes, crevices, ventilation shafts and various building openings to spend their last moments. They do this to have peace away from predators in their last moments and they do this to not become a hindrance to the flock. They then die in peace in these spaces

At some point, everything comes to an end. It’s an inescapable fact of life. As humans, we have our final resting places, but what about birds? Considering how many pigeons are in existence one would assume that we would see more dead pigeons lying around, but we don’t. So, where do pigeons go to die?

Pigeons are one of the oldest domesticated and versatile birds of all times. They have been kept as pets, used as food, guides and otherwise. They are intelligent, they can recognize colours, measurements and have homing capabilities.

These animals are loyal, reliable and travel really fast, no wonder they’ve been messenger birds and travel guides. These birds are herbivores eating grains, vegetables, and fruits. They exist all around the world in large numbers and yet not many people have ever seen a dead pigeon.

Where do pigeons go to die?

These animals have a relatively short life span. They are also a tasty meal for any cats in the neighbourhood as well as predatory hawks. With so many pigeons dying often, how is that we never see dead pigeons everywhere? Do their feathered friends bury them or do they have someplace that they go before they reach bird haven?

Feral pigeons that live in cities look for dark covered spaces when they feel ill or are wounded. They’ve been this way for 1000s of years. They do this as a last-ditch attempt to recover in a safe space away from predators and not wanting to endanger the flock.

Pigeons will look for holes, crevices, ventilation shafts and various building openings to spend their last moments. Their small bodies decay very quickly after death. This explains why we don’t often see them dead and lying all over the place

Another reason why dead pigeon seems to disappear is to keep their dead bodies away from predators. These predators include cats, hawks, foxes, raccoons, and other opportunistic predators that will prey on weak and or dead and dying creatures. These predators are quick to attack so chances are before the sick pigeon can hit the ground they’ve been swooped up and snatched off as a meal.

How long do pigeons live?

How long pigeons live for is dependent on a couple of factors. While it is very unlikely for them to survive until old age in the wild, they may not do much better in captivity either. A pigeon in the wild can live up to 10 years.

The average number of years pigeons in cities live up to is 3 to 6 years. This is because they are easy prey, they get hit by passing cars, or fly into windows and mesh nettings around buildings which can be fatal for them.

Pet pigeons, on the other hand, can live between 9 to 15 years. This is if the pigeon is not being raised for food, they live this long if they are treated extremely well. Treating a pigeon well can be a job on its own, they need space, lots of open-air for flight, variety in their diet and can become sick if isolated from a flock.

What causes pigeons to die suddenly

Pigeons are susceptible to a wide range of diseases. Pigeons are zoonotic creatures, they can act as disease carriers. Often pigeons die because of these diseases. As pigeon age, their immune strength, agility, sensory and digestive systems decline, this causes them to die suddenly.

How do you know if pigeons are dying?

Sick or dying pigeons often isolate themselves, they remove themselves from the pack and go to dark shaded spaces. Their activity levels drop, and you hear them cooing less and less. In addition, their eating habits change for the worst and they don’t interact with the flock. Remember to be careful around these birds as they can carry and transmit a variety of diseases.

Do birds bury their dead

No, birds do not mourn or bury their dead flock members. You may have noticed birds “mourning” a dead member of their flock. The sounds that a dove or pigeon make can sound like mourning over their friend as they gather around it but this does not mean they are in mourning. Rather it means that they are trying to get some sort of response from the fallen bird to find out what happened and where the death-causing threat came from.

What if a pigeon dies in your house?

If a pet pigeon dies in your house, especially from old age or from an unknown cause, its best to hire professionals to get rid of the bird. If you decide to bury the bird make sure that you use disposable gloves for handling and seal bags for the disposing also burry the bird very deep in the ground.

Conclusion

Pigeons naturally look for dark crevices when they are sick and dying, this is so that they are out of sight when they die. These animals have a low life expectancy rates both in the wild and in cites if they aren’t taken care of. If a pigeon dies on your property it would be best to contact pest controls services to remove them

If you’re interested in pigeons you may also be interested in these articles: What do pigeons eat in the wild? When do pigeons leave the nest? What do pigeons like to eat? Where do pigeons go in the winter? Click the links to read more

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How long do city pigeons live?

by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 12, 2021 | Bird Spike, history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News

Keeping this in view, how do pigeons survive in the city?

Pigeons (Rock Doves) adapt well to cities because they find there habitat similar to the cliffs where they live in the wild. If we were prepared to capture and eat them (not recommended today for health reasons) their populations would be much smaller of course.

Subsequently, question is, where do pigeons die? This background means that, when sick or injured, pigeons instinctively retreat to dark, remote places – ventilation systems, attics, building ledges – hoping to remain out of reach and unnoticed by predators. The predators don’t see them, but neither do we: often when pigeons expire, they are in hiding.

Keeping this in consideration, how long can a pigeon live?

Life Expectancy: Varies greatly from 3-5 years through to 15 years dependent on many factors, including natural predation and human interference. Predation: The wild pigeon is predated upon, almost exclusively, by the peregrine falcon, a bird that is also found living and breeding in coastal regions.

Do pigeons fight to the death?

As The Tom says, pigeons will defend their nest to the death under these circumstances. In a confined space this can quickly lead to the eggs becoming broken, or even the squabs being trampled to death in the ensuing skirmish.

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« Older Entries

Next Entries »

Contesting Tradition: The Deep Play and Protest of Pigeon Shoots

Scientists give extinct passenger pigeon a place on the family tree

Testing pigeon memory in a change detection task

Wartime hero pigeon Paddy honoured with fly-past

Local hero

Where do pigeons go to die? All you need to know

Where do pigeons go to die?

How long do pigeons live?

What causes pigeons to die suddenly

How do you know if pigeons are dying?

Do birds bury their dead

What if a pigeon dies in your house?

Conclusion

How long do city pigeons live?

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