# Why does the pigeon bob its head when walking?



## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

This is a topic I've often wondered about and I cannot find an answer to. Why does the pigeon bob its head when it walks? Is it to help them balance? Is it to allow them to see better? It seems the faster it walks, the faster its head bobs - like it's somehow connected. Are there any other birds out there that also bob their heads like the pigeon?


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi Garye,

It is to do with maintaining accurate vision whilst in motion on the ground. Here are some past posts on the topic which, between them, give a reasonable explanation:



> For an animal with side-mounted eyes, forward movements result in parallax shifts (apparent motion of near objects relative to distant objects). Now, vertebrate eyes--and retinas--work much better with completely stationary images. So what happens is that the bird's body walks on while the head is temporarily left behind to stabilize the image. The head is then jerked forward at the start of the next step.





> It is said that the bobbing of a pigeon's head while it walks is due to certain limitations of the eye-brain coordination it possesses, by virtue of the size of its skull--sort of like an owl's eyes are fixed in the sockets, and it moves its entire head. They think the pigeon visually takes in its close environment, in a series of fast, constantly refocused "freeze-frames", while using a wide angle of general focus for overall flight (notice how they're heads don't bob when they're flying?).





> The reason pigeons (and chickens and some other birds) do the head bobbing is because their vision is such that they have to do that in order to stay in focus when they are moving on the ground. Don't know if you have ever noticed how weird it looks when you drive thru a stand of trees (gets kinda blurry) but the head movement enables them to overcome this and register things clearly at each side when they move.



John


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## ZigZagMarquis (Aug 31, 2004)

I think its just them trying to look cool.


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## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

*Yeah! That's It!!!*

They're trying to look cool. I knew there was a logical reason for it. 

Actually I always thought it was just for balancing but maybe it is for vision too.

Anyways, at the end of the day, they must be exhausted from all that bobbing. The neck must be sore. No wonder they spend so much time roosting.


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## Webby (Feb 18, 2005)

Yeah right.

How come when they fly everytime they flap their wings they go fweep fweep fweep fweep. There like little Karate birds. I figure there tryign to breath whilest they are flapping.


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## rosey_love (Mar 21, 2004)

Yea, I always woundered that too. They are the only birds that make that noice when they fly too. I could tell wether it was a pigeon lifting off from a long distance. It is their wings flapping together i think. But every bird makes a different noice. My budgies make a really weir noice when they fly.


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## rena paloma (Jan 30, 2005)

*funky head pulse*

they have rythem man, that is why...the pigeon is a funky bird with rythem, and soul.


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## PidgePidge (May 14, 2003)

Ha ha. What's really funny, is for those of you with pet pigeons, have you ever noticed that when you carry them, they still bob their little heads? It cracks my up when Pidge Pidge does that. That's when I realized (before reading about it on this website in an old thread) that it was for vision--like you Garye, I had considered previously that perhaps it was for balance. But when you've got one bopping it's head while you're carrying it, it becomes quite obvious that they're 'taking everything in' visually with each bounce.


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## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

I had no idea pigeons bop when they're being held and moved! Isn't that funny! Of course I could never catch a pigeon so I never had the opportunity to watch them when held.


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## PidgePidge (May 14, 2003)

Hi Garye,
Oh it's hilarious, I hope you get to see it some time. You know how when a walking pigeon turns directions or walks around a corner, it bobs its head while looking in that direction? (hope that makes sense...) Well they do that too when you're holding them and walking with them--just like if they were walking themselves, they bob their heads in the direction you're turning in, or bob it just straight ahead if you're walking straight. It's funny--cute!  
--Jill


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## Garye (Feb 20, 2005)

Yes, I've noticed feral pigeons bob their heads when they change direction and I thought the whole thing was hilarious! They really are something when they walk. I think that's what attracts people to them. It's hard to hate something so cute.

I wish I could own pigeons but I know the neighbors here would make an issue of it. So I cautiously visit and feed the feral pigeons in town. They get on my car and I've seen a couple of people look at me real funny when they do that. So I try not to draw too much attention to myself or them and try to feed them when not too many people are around. But the ferals appreciate it in the winter with all this snow. They always act like they're starved!


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

I'm glad you brought this up, as I just noticed this. Recently I was walking quickly while carrying Grace through the house. She bobbed her head really fast trying to "keep up". I slowed down so she didn't get have to work so hard.


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## ZigZagMarquis (Aug 31, 2004)

Webby said:


> Yeah right.
> 
> How come when they fly everytime they flap their wings they go fweep fweep fweep fweep. There like little Karate birds. I figure there tryign to breath whilest they are flapping.



... hmmm... dunno, some of my birds do that when taking flight, but others do not. I think its more "likely" that the cocks make this sound when taking flight... as I've noticed I have a couple of hens that hardly make a sound when flying from one end of the loft to another, a distances of about 16'; Lady-Bird and Honey (Hens) in particular are quite quiet when taking flight, as in, if you're not watching, sometimes you can miss them move... where as Big-B*tch or Big-Bird or Speedy (Cock-Birds) make all kinds of noise when taking flight between the "fweep fweep fweep" sounds and "wing slap" sound on about the second or third flap.

 

I just chalk it all up to them being pigeons.


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## phantom (Dec 10, 2004)

*Wing slapping*

I read somewhere that they make the noise as a communication to others. It might have been on the Cornell University site. 

By the way, they are doing an interesting study on pigeons. They are taking data from the public, if anyone is interested in participating. They are trying to find out why wild pigeons come in so many color variations, as normally birds in the wild will breed out to one color.


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