Did you wonder anytime about so many pigeons being easily accessible in cities and urban areas. But the moment you proceed to a little less developed area, you might not find many. This article explains about why and how of it, all the reasons and aspects of which type of pigeons are found in which type of areas.
Regular pigeons live in rural areas but in very less numbers. This is because of too much open space, temperature, less availability of food in rural areas. However, wild pigeons are found mainly in rural areas due to water as well as their ability to eat wide variety of food.
Why do pigeons like urban areas?
The reasons pigeons like to live in cities is similar to humans. Let’s have a look at those:
Nesting
Pigeons like to build their nest near concrete, stone, and marble and not on any trees or shrubs like the other birds. And in urban areas, there are huge buildings made of concrete, which makes them like the urban areas. So they prefer staying in places that are not noticeable by the predators who can harm them and their eggs.
Food
Pigeons like to eat food grains and seeds similar to the other birds. People in the urban areas like to feed the pigeons high-quality, healthy food to maintain their health. This makes the food available to the pigeon easily without wondering much in search of food. Instead, they hunt for feeding in a group, where few will feed and rest will act as a guard to check if any predator or danger is coming towards them, and then they rotate the places.
Protection from cold weather
Cities are warmer than rural areas. Also, buildings absorb the warmth from the heating systems during the day and release it at night, giving the pigeons warmth during the cold weather. Also, the residual heat from the vehicles adds warmth to the overall temperature.
Reproduction
As the most significant number of pigeons dwell in cities, it becomes easy for the male pigeons to search for a female pigeon for mating and reproduction of eggs. Therefore, increasing the population may help them to sustain in the urban areas for a long time.
Why are there no pigeons in rural areas?
Pigeons are considered urban birds, as they are found mainly in the cities. So let’s have a glance at why they don’t like rural areas or why they are not found in rural areas.
Open space
In rural areas, the houses are built far; therefore, the pigeons cannot build their nests. Also, they don’t prefer building their nests on trees or shrubs as they fear that their predators will destroy them.
Wander for food
Rural people are not much friendly to birds like pigeons as they think they carry germs under their feathers; hence, they don’t feed them any food, so they have to wander for feeding. Also, the crops are sprayed with pesticides which are harmful to the birds and even cause their death. That’s why they don’t like to stay in rural areas.
Hot temperature
Rural areas are very hot as compared to urban areas. The pigeons usually prefer the warm temperature to live, and rural areas are very hot, especially in the summer season. Though there are chances for them to live on the trees, they feel worried about being attacked by the predators.
Lack of proper treatment
Rural areas don’t have vets, and therefore the rearers cannot give proper treatment to the pigeons who are ill or hurt. Unfortunately, this leads to the death of the pigeons. Also, the people in rural areas rear the pigeons for meat consumption; therefore, the number of pigeons in such areas have reduced.
Are wild pigeons common in rural areas?
Yes, wild pigeons are common in rural areas due to the below reasons.
Region
Wild pigeons are primarily found in coastal areas because they prefer staying in a less densely populated area. Rural areas have fewer houses and that too at a distance from each other. On the other hand, urban areas have tall buildings close to each other with more population.
Nesting
They are termed wild because they are wild birds, and they prefer to build their nest forests areas or on trees or shrubs where there is less population, unlike urban areas where there are fewer trees and more people.
Life Span
Wild pigeons do not like to be reared, as it reduces their life span. In rural areas, people mainly don’t rear wild pigeons, and therefore they are free to move around, whereas, in urban areas, people like to rear the pigeons and keep them in limited areas.
Food
Wild pigeons mostly feed on seeds, insects, and worms. They even eat from the garbage that is put by the people on the ground. Such types of food are readily available in the rural areas as compared to the urban areas, as cities don’t have many worms, insects, or garbage thrown on the road.
Water Source
Rural areas have large lakes and ponds, making it easy for the wild pigeons to drink water as such water sources are available at a few kms. This is also one of the reasons why wild pigeons prefer living in rural areas.
Where do pigeons normally live?
Pigeons are found all over the world. There are around 300 species of pigeons that are scattered around the whole planet except for the regions that are extremely hot or cold.
Original habitat
The ancient habitats of pigeons were found in the coastal regions. It is said that these original species were found in the coastal cliffs of the rocky North African coast. Many species of pigeons have moved to different regions of the world, but some of the feral pigeons are still found in the coastal areas.
Town & Country
Pigeons are primarily found in the forest areas where they can find their natural food easily. As they are very adaptive, they have easily managed their living in the urban areas. The pigeons who have been born in cities prefer to stay in the city, and hence vast flocks of pigeons have been found in towns.
Visibility
Pigeons can be seen roosting in groups on telephone lines, ledges and rooftops of the houses or buildings in the cities. They build their nests in spots that are not likely to be reached by anyone but is noticeable. They are friendly to humans and so don’t get scared of them.
Expansion
Pigeons mate at any time of the year, but they are mostly observed mating in the spring and summertime in areas with plenty of fruits available. The female pigeon lays two eggs at a time, and both the pigeons incubate these eggs; after 30 days, the squabs learn to fly and become independent. This cycle goes on and expands the species of pigeons.
That’s it for now. Hope, you understood all the reasons for birds to prefer urban areas by pigeons compared to rural areas.
