Volume 45, Number 2, December 1998:
Feral Pigeons

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE
- about KSN
- about the author

IN THIS ISSUE
- introduction
- origin of feral pigeons
- basic plumages
- mate choice and plumages
- advantages of different plumages
- advantages of choosing different mates
- breeding seasons
- reproducative data
- brood reduction
- living in colonies
- commuter pigeons
- relationships with people
- reference

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Updated: March 9, 2005
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Feral Pigeons
by Richard F. Johnston

COMMUTER PIGEONS

Food that is locally available around a breeding colony, while welcome if it exists, is not as important as nest sites to the formation of a colony. This is because pigeons are able to commute daily from city centers to outlying districts for feeding. Commuter pigeons usually gather into flocks, numbering from perhaps a dozen to thousands of birds, and follow established routes to and from feeding sites. Wintertime commuting to feeding sites begins in early morning, is followed by feeding and loafing, by feeding again, and then by return to the roosting sites before dusk. Summer schedules are less synchronized, owing to breeding activities that include nest exchanges by pairs in mid-morning and late afternoon. Return flights tend to have more birds in them than those going to the feeding grounds in the morning.