# Why do Feral Pigeons like large cities?



## zimmzimm3

I am from Ohio and i am visiting boston and it occurred to me that there were a lot of wild pigeons. My question is what attracts Feral pigeons to large cities?
Thank You


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## Lovebirds

zimmzimm3 said:


> I am from Ohio and i am visiting boston and it occurred to me that there were a lot of wild pigeons. My question is what attracts Feral pigeons to large cities?
> Thank You


I expect two things. Lots of roosting places and lots of food. Not what WE would feed them........more like trash I guess than food, but it's much easier to find "something" in the city than out in the countryside. That would be my guess anyway.


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## Matt D.

The big buildings and the more people to feed them.


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## Charis

I agree with Renee and Matt.
Also, since most pigeons have a homing instinct and they were released in cities, it would make sense to me that their life cycle would repeat over and over in the same or general location.


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## John_D

Mostly, feral pigeons were around before the cities were large. They were introduced into human habitat by people centuries ago, and just carried on breeding and trying to find food after people ceased to keep them as semi-domesticated birds.

They have nowhere else to go - they aren't birds of the countryside - and the towns and cities provide something equivalent to the cliffs and caves they would inhabit in the few places where they are still found in a true wild state. 

John


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## chriss80

I think todays pigons have forgotten haw to be wild. In big cities they think they are safe, man feeds them while hawks hunt them. I know man also is cruel to pigeons but have you ever seen an hawk trying to feed a flock? lol
Also pigeons in the wild live on rocks while in cities they think the man made buildings are their natural rocks, I guess as long as it feels like it then is good enough to perch on.
Oh yeah and all that junk food every ware is a big plus in the cities.


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## Guest

yes its definiately the fine dining and a room with a veiw...plus theres just so much to see and do there, the fun never ends for them  lol


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## Maggie-NC

Does anyone know why pigeons like to hand out on power lines? Our nearby flock of well over 100 pigeons have one area they go to at almost the same time of day. They kinda sit up on the power line watching traffic go by.

I think there would be more pigeons in the countryside if they had any old building to roost in. Our local ones use a big barn and I constantly worry that they will get tired of them roosting in there and try to get rid of them.


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## Matt D.

Yeah... pigeons like to roost up high... if they feel safe and it is high... around here they really like those PG&E street lights that are everywhere.


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## Guest

I thinks its all about location location location , their looking for that prime realestate that has all the amenities to go with it, plus lots of feathered neighbors to boot  you have to remember there is safety in numbers and thats why they gather together in such big groups up high and with feeding spots well, in the pigeon world word gets around fast


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## flitsnowzoom

Out here (up here? ) there are small flocks of pigeons that hang out up in the cliffs that overlook I-70 as it winds west toward the Continental Divide. They live up to 8,000 to 9,000 feet year round. There is running water (in spite of the very cold temperatures and probably dine on mosses, lichen, berries, rose hips, juniper and cedar berries, grass and sedges, plus any fruits and seed pods that are left after the growing season. It has to be tough and the flocks aren't very big but they are there. For the first time ever, I saw them up in Estes Park just a couple of weeks ago, and believe me it was really cold. Unlike the little sparrows, they weren't near the eateries, just hanging out in the rocks and caves around town. 

I'm sure they have travelled west as the cities have grown, but these are not at all dependent on man for sustenence, unlike the city-slicker pigeons that must forage from our trash and waste to survive.


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## Guest

around here where I live is mostly open land but you do see pigeons here an there spread out along the highways between the built up areas .. they seem to rely on farmed pastures and cow fields for the most part as there is no one handing them out anything but umm they have no mountain cliffs to nest in so barns and bridges are the next best thing Im guessing


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## John_D

flitsnowzoom said:


> Out here (up here? ) there are small flocks of pigeons that hang out up in the cliffs that overlook I-70 as it winds west toward the Continental Divide. They live up to 8,000 to 9,000 feet year round. There is running water (in spite of the very cold temperatures and probably dine on mosses, lichen, berries, rose hips, juniper and cedar berries, grass and sedges, plus any fruits and seed pods that are left after the growing season. It has to be tough and the flocks aren't very big but they are there.


That's a great example of ferals reverting to the wild state. Rock Doves live on inland cliffs in mountainous areas of mainland Europe (if there are any wild ones left there), and related and very similar pigeon species live at high altitudes in Asia.

Be interested to know the color of these birds' plumage - whether they retain the mix of patterns and color we get in cities or if they have also reverted back to a uniform blue bar feathering.

John


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## flitsnowzoom

The well-established flocks I've noticed are quite a mix. There's a fair amount of light color and brown. It may be to their advantage to have so many different feather colors as the ground up here is a light granite, it's semi-arid to arid, and they might blend in better. Might make an interesting study to see if the base background results in pigeons with different dominant color patterns.


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