If it looks like a pigeon... I wrote this article in reply to a question sent in to my Ask Me Anything blog. I thought that all of us who keep an eye on the animals around us might be interested, so I have cross-posted it here. Someone wrote to ask: I have a maroon bird in my backyard. It looks like a pigeon, but has feathers on its feet. If it looks like a pigeon... Well, it probably IS a pigeon. You see, first there was the Rock Pigeon - this guy: A perfectly nice wild bird. Some 5000 years ago - maybe even longer, people began domesticating them. As with most domestic animals, the longer they've been domesticated, the more varieties, or breeds, we've created. There are at least 200 varieties of domestic pigeons now. Including this guy - a Lahore Pigeon: Who, as you can see, has feathers on his feet and some rather astounding coloring. I'm sure you've heard of "homing pigeons", and it is true that most domestic pigeons have the instinct to return home every night to roost. Most pigeon fanciers allow their birds to free range during the day, knowing they'll return safely to home in the evening. It is possible the bird in your backyard is a tame bird that is simply lost, and if so here are some instructions on how to care for the bird if that seems to be the case. It is also possible that this is truly a feral pigeon. Pigeons are a bit of a mystery as far as feral animals go. So much so that the famed Cornell University is even doing research on them. You can even join their Pigeon Watch Program if you like. The thing is - most domestic animals who return to the wild, also soon revert to "wild type". That is, their descendants soon look just like the truly wild versions of that animal. Pigeons, however, do not. Just click here and look closely at the photo of that flock in Barcelona that I had at the top of our entry. In only a few minutes, I found five variations on the "wild type" in this "wild" flock. When I lived in Tulsa, I saw both pure white, white with colored specks, and pure coal black pigeons with our urban flocks - perhaps they were pets, perhaps they were wild. There is really no way to tell. Well, there is one way. A pet bird will almost surely be wearing a band around one leg, or both. If the bird will allow you to approach it, you can get the information from the band and contact local authorities, or pigeon fancier associations, and try to get them back to their owner - if necessary. But, yeah - I'm guessing it probably WAS a pigeon. I had so much fun looking at the pigeons (photos courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, BTW, rock pigeon photographed by J.M.Garg) that I've added pigeon coloring pages to my coloring pages website, and pigeon clipart to my Bird Clipart site. This article is also cross-posted at my Naturalist Notebook blog. Summer Fey Foovay Posted: Thursday 15th May 2008, 2:53 PM Back to the Blog

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