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Pigeon Watch: Get to Know Our Amazing City Birds

 

Pigeon Watch: Get to Know  Our Amazing City Birds
Pigeon Watch: Get to Know  Our Amazing City Birds

You can learn a lot by watching pigeons! After observing pigeons from a window, a bench in a park, or using online videos, children use a checklist to identify different behaviours and colour variations.

If you visit any city in the world, chances are you have seen a pigeon. Perhaps you have seen someone walking on the pavement, or a group of them gathering in a park, or perhaps a couple sitting at your window.

The rock pigeon (Columbia Livia), also known as the rock pigeon, originally lived on cliffs in Europe. Over the last 10,000 years, they have learned to live in cities and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They can nest in the nooks and crannies of high-rise buildings as if they were nesting in the wild on cliffs.

Pigeons are incredible animals. They are among the cleanest and most powerful flying birds. Pigeons are among the most intelligent animals. They have been taught to transmit messages and play table tennis, and because of their breathtaking scenery, the coastguard has used them to find people missing at sea.

Let's get to know the bathroom a little better. Voici une activité à faire à la maison avec des enfants de 3 à 13 ans, adaptée d'Audubon New York For the Birds! Environmental education programme.  their behaviour and colour changes. Use a checklist such as a scavenger hunt to discover the different species!

First, read the information below to learn about pigeon colour variations and courtship behaviour.

Then, if you can, take part in Pigeon Watch. Look out the window or sit on a park bench and see if you can spot any pigeons.  city pigeons (if you've ever seen them). Watch the birds individually - talk about what they look like, what they do and how they interact with each other. Use the Pigeon Watch checklist to check for colour changes and courtship behaviour you see. Click here to download the checklist.

Showing the courtship bathroom

Pigeons mate for life. Once they have chosen a partner to raise their chicks, they stay together year after year. They are very protective of their mates and will judge them throughout the year. Although they look alike, we can distinguish male and female pigeons by their behaviour. There are six seductive behaviours that you can observe.

Cooing: Males make soft cooing noises to attract their partners. (Click to listen to the audio.)

Leaning and turning: When a male is first looking for a mate, he will show himself by blowing feathers on his neck, leaning towards her and turning around. (Watch the video here.)

Tail Pulling: Males bulge their neck feathers and pull their feathers towards the ground, trying to impress nearby females. (Watch the video here.)

Behaviour: The male sometimes follows the female. (Watch the video here.)

Billing: Pigeon pairs often place their beaks inside the beaks of their partners to strengthen the pair's bond. (Watch the video here.)

Mating and clapping: Males flap their wings together.

bathroom colour shapes

What colour is the cardinal? A raven? How about a blue jay?

What colour is the pigeon? Pigeons are all different colours which we call colour patterns. There are seven colour variations. Download this sheet to learn and test yourself!

Blue band: This is the most common, with blue stripes on its wings.

Red band: These pigeons have red stripes on their wings.

Red: The colour of these birds is rusty red throughout.

Prevalence: Black pigeons are everywhere.

White: This bathroom is pure white and has no other colour.

Checkerboard: These birds have a checkerboard pattern on their wings.

Feet: This pigeon varies in colour with a hint of colour somewhere on its body.

Audubon New York Birds! Il s'agit d'un programme d'éducation environnementale axé sur le lieu qui favorise la sensibilisation et l'appréciation de la nature grâce à la recherche sur les oiseaux. For the sake of the birds! It began in New York in 1997 and not only provides knowledge of local species and habitats but also fosters a sense of pride in one's community and enables Students are actively interested in protecting their local environment.

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