SOME EXTRA BREEDS

Pigeons as lifesavers

Although the pigeon is one of the most intelligent of all the bird species, man has found limited uses for the birds other than for the purposes of sport, food and as a message carrier. A team of navy researchers, however, has found that pigeons can be trained to save human lives at sea with high success rates. Project Sea Hunt has trained a number of pigeons to identify red or yellow life jackets when floating in the water.

Lifesaving Crew

The pigeons were not only found to be more reliable than humans, but they were also many times quicker when it came to spotting survivors from a capsized or sinking boat. The pigeon can see colour in the same way that humans do but they can also see ultra-violet, a part of the spectrum that humans cannot see, and this is one of the reasons they are so well adapted to lifesaving.

http://www.pigeonclubsusa.com/faircount_facts_info_pigeonfacts.htm

Project PigeonWatch from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

LAL SARA

should be "watch this breed. This breed is known as LAL SARA in Nepal."

Pigeons in the news

Reuters, News Agency

One of the world’s most famous news agencies, Reuters, started its European business by using trained homing pigeons. The service was started in 1850 with 45 pigeons carrying the latest news and stock prices from Aachen in Germany to Brussels in Belgium. Although a telegraph service between the two countries existed, numerous gaps in the transmission lines made communication difficult and slow. The birds travelled the 76 miles in a record-breaking two hours, beating the railway by four hours.

http://pigeonexpresso.com/famous-pigeons.html

pigeons

Why do you never see a baby pigeon?

Juvenile Pigeons

Most small birds rear and fledge their young in 2/3 weeks with young birds sometimes leaving the nest after only 10 days of life, but pigeons are different; their young remain in the nest for up to 2 months before fledging.

Juvenile Pigeon
& Mother

This gives the young pigeon a distinct advantage over many other species of bird due to the fact that it leaves the nest as a relatively mature juvenile, allowing the bird to cope better in the first few days of its life, a dangerous time for all youngsters.

Juvenile Pigeons
in Nest

Juveniles can be told apart from adults but it takes an experienced eye. A juvenile’s beak often appears to be far too long for the size of its body and the cere (the fleshy area at the top of the beak) is white in adults and greyish pink in juveniles.

Project PigeonWatch from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

color full pigeon

 

more to go. 

What is the natural predator of the pigeon?

Peregrine Falcon

Although the natural enemy of the feral pigeon is now man, with millions of pigeons being killed in control operations the world over, it is the peregrine falcon that is the pigeons’ real natural predator. Although a shy and retiring bird that has its natural habitat along rocky coastlines, the peregrine is now being introduced into towns and cities as a ‘natural’ pigeon control. The peregrine is the fastest bird on the planet when in a dive and can achieve speeds in excess of 200 mph, over 130 mph faster than a pigeon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_Falcon

some fabulous pigeons.

 

keep go on wathcing 

Are pigeons intelligent?

Pigeons are considered to be one of the most intelligent birds on the planet and able to undertake tasks previously thought to be the sole preserve of humans and primates. The pigeon has also been found to pass the ‘mirror test’ (being able to recognise its reflection in a mirror) and is one of only 6 species, and the only non-mammal, that has this ability. The pigeon can also recognise all 26 letters of the English language as well as being able to conceptualise. In scientific tests pigeons have been found to be able to differentiate between photographs and even differentiate between two different human beings in a photograph when rewarded with food for doing so.

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/UWS/GeeWhizQuizAnswers.htm

http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v6i42_kak.html