Why Are Pigeons Only in Cities?
If you live in American or European cities, you must see a lot of pigeons flying around you. Don’t you?
Those flapping wings must have left you wondering why are pigeons only in cities, isn’t that right? Though you see a lot of pigeons around urban spaces, that doesn’t mean they only live in cities, there are some wild pigeons that live in rural areas.
However, a significant percentage of pigeons prefer living in urban areas for several reasons and here we’ve delved into all those reasons.
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What Is the Evolutionary Advantage of Pigeons Living in Cities?
There are many advantages for pigeons to live in cities, which is why they thrive there just fine. Here are some of the evolutionary benefits that pigeons get in cities –
01. Available Food Sources
One of the biggest advantages that pigeons have in cities is food availability. Pigeons eat many human foods, whether it’s a leftover burger, pizza, or rice, they will eat most of them. They even eat fruit too.
In cities in America, Europe, and others, some people love feeding pigeons. Even in some cities, there are fixed areas for feeding pigeons. People feed breadcrumbs, chips, seeds, grains, nuts, etc.
Plus, a significant portion of people keep bird feeders around the home in countries like the USA, the UK, etc.
So overall, in cities, pigeons have access to a lot of food, which is why they love dwelling in cities.
02. Nesting
Over the years, pigeons have mastered the art of nesting in hard structures like buildings, bridges, etc. And unlike most other birds, they kind of like living on solid surfaces rather than branches because they find it safe.
Plus, in cities, whenever people see a pigeon nest, they tend to protect it from possible harm. This is another reason why pigeons choose cities.
03. Warm Microclimate
Pigeons and most other birds are pretty sensitive to cold temperatures. As we know, urban areas are warmer compared to rural areas due to the lack of trees, ponds, and rivers.
Plus, urban areas have a lot of skyscrapers, which is another reason for the warmth. This warmth is extremely beneficial for pigeons, especially in the winter season.
Concrete and asphalt have heat-retaining abilities since pigeons do the nesting around these materials, they get less cold than they would in rural areas.
Hence, they are protected from several cold-related health issues, such as hypothermia. And this is another reason why pigeons live in the cities.
04. Predator Protection
In the wild, pigeons are exposed to a bunch of predators like falcons, hawks, cats, dogs, snakes, etc. They are always looking over their shoulders. Whereas, in cities, that risk is significantly eliminated.
The high-rise buildings, rooftops, highly populated areas, high noise, traffic, etc. discourage most of the pigeon predators from avoiding urban areas. As a result, pigeons can fly and live safely without much worry.
05. Lack of Natural Habitats
As we humans are expanding and urbanizing rural areas, this is reducing the availability of natural habitats for many birds, including pigeons. Which is why they are forced to adapt to the urban environment.
06. Human Behavior
Over time, pigeons have built a friendly relationship with humans. This is not the case with most birds. People in cities like seeing pigeons flapping their beautiful wings, flying here and there.
As mentioned earlier, people even purposely feed pigeons, both the bird and people enjoy it. Another reason why pigeons love living in urban spaces.
Are Pigeons Only in the City?
Nope, pigeons are not only in the city, but some pigeons also live in rural areas too.
Even though urban spaces are the safest due to available food resources, suitable nesting sites, lower risk of predation, etc.
Now that we’ve explained how well-adapted pigeons are to urban spaces and how risky it is for pigeons to live in rural areas, you might be wondering why pigeons live in rural areas at all.
Though most pigeon species prefer living in urban areas, some specific wild species aren’t very fond of humans.
They aren’t comfortable around human movement, noise, and lighting. This is one of the big reasons why they prefer living in rural spaces.
Can You Keep a City Pigeon as a Pet?
No, you shouldn’t keep a city pigeon as a pet because there are a bunch of risks involved with it. Rather, consider keeping domesticated pigeons as pets.
Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t consider petting city pigeons.
- In many states, it is not legal to keep wild birds as pets without proper licenses and permits.
- City pigeons might carry some deadly diseases which can be transmitted to humans and other animals.
- Wild or city pigeons might not adapt as well to captivity as domesticated pigeons, this can lead to the death of the bird.
As said before, if you’re really interested in petting pigeons, you better go for domesticated pigeons or doves. They are accustomed to living in captivity.
Conclusion
If you were thinking about why are pigeons only in cities? Let us tell you that it’s not entirely true.
Some pigeons prefer living in rural areas too due to human disturbance, noise, radiation, light, etc. But most pigeons have perfectly adapted to city life and are living pretty well.
That’s it, wrapping it up now. Hope you got a satisfactory answer to your queries.
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