Some Interesting Facts About Pigeons

Here are a few interesting facts about pigeons. You can share your views about pigeons and this article by commenting at the end of this page. In the 17th century, all pigeon droppings were considered the property of crown in England. These droppings were used in making gun powder. Pigeons have lived alongside humans for a long time as the oldest images of pigeons ever found date back to 3000 BC. These images were found by archeologists in Iraq. They have excellent eyesight and can see colors. They can even see ultraviolet light which humans can't see. Due to their exceptional eyesight, pigeons are sometimes used as aids in human search and rescue missions. Pigeons have also been mentioned in the Bible. Males are slightly larger than the females. Pigeons were used as a means of communication in wars as this method of communication couldn't be jammed. Interestingly, some armies still use keep pigeons. The passenger pigeon, which was one of the most commonly found birds on earth if not the most commonly found, is now one of the extinct birds. In early 1800s, there were between 3 to 5 billion passenger pigeons in North America. Pigeons feed their hatch-lings with a secretion called pigeon milk. Both males and females produce it. Their eggs take 18-19 days of incubation to hatch. Rock pigeons were originally domesticated as a food species. Queen Elizabeth of England has lofts of pigeons at her estate in Sandringham, Norfolk. Pigeon is considered a sacred bird in sikhism and feeding pigeons is considered a virtue that will bring some benefits. Today, a few species of doves and pigeons are threatened with extinction. Pigeons and doves together constitute the bird family Columbidae. Although the terms 'pigeon' and 'dove' are used interchangeably but there is a small difference between the two. Doves are smaller species while the larger species are called pigeon. In the early 1800s the Rothschild family used pigeons as a source of communication set up a network of pigeon lofts throughout Europe for this purpose. This method proved to be much speedy and secure and helped them in increasing the amount of their wealth. Owls, raccoons and eagles are among common predators in the north. Cats are a common predator of pigeons on the ground. They can reach puberty when they are just about six months old and can live for about 10 to 15 years