Pigeons are so common in today’s world that we often see them anywhere we go. That said, it is also fairly common for us to see pigeons dying, which leads some of us to think that they are actually the type of animals that die after mating. After all, it isn’t uncommon for several species of animals to die during the reproductive process. So, do pigeons die after mating?
No, pigeons do not die after mating as these animals are capable of raising at least 12 clutches of eggs after mating for life. On average, pigeons usually live for six years in the wild, and this is why some of us might think that they die after mating considering that they don’t get to live long in the wild.
It might seem odd to think that birds actually die after mating because they are not like other animals that naturally die during the reproductive period. Wherever this myth came from, it is merely just that—a myth. As such, you should know that pigeons do not die after mating as these birds actually mate for life and are capable of raising a lot of pigeons, which leads to the high number of pigeons we have in the world today.
Do pigeons die after mating?
Nature can indeed be weird and sometimes very scary due to how there are actually animals that only live to reproduce. That’s because some of these animals have to die right after mating due to one reason or another. And, oftentimes, it is due to how the female kills them right after mating due to how the mother needs the extra calories during or pregnancy or due to how the female doesn’t want the male to have other mates in the future. This can truly be bizarre yet fascinating at the same time.
That said, there are actually some people who believe that pigeons are like that in the sense that these birds mate themselves to death. After all, it isn’t unlikely for you to see a dead pigeon from time to time considering that these birds are fairly common. Of course, that shouldn’t be too odd for a person to believe especially when nature has several other animals that tend to mate themselves to death. So, do pigeons actually die after mating?
Well, for starters, we have to start things off by going straight to the point. No, pigeons do not die after mating as they actually get to live quite a good life long after mating. There is no clear reason why some people actually think that pigeons die after mating but that is just merely a myth that has no scientific basis at all. In fact, pigeons actually produce a lot of offspring, which only contributes to the high population of pigeons we have in the world today.
Of course, we also have to prove that pigeons do not die after mating. In fact, a single pair of pigeons can actually produce up to 12 new pigeons in a single year granting that all of their offspring don’t die early deaths. All 12 of those pigeons come from different clutches. And, in total, a single pair of pigeons can produce up to 12 clutches throughout their entire lifetime.
With those numbers, it only points to the fact that pigeons do not die after mating and are actually going to continue to reproduce and give birth to new pigeons as long as their reproductive organs are working or until they end up dying of old age or natural causes. Again, this is why pigeons are so quick to reproduce and why we often see plenty of pigeons in different places across the world.
Of course, there are also a few reasons that may have led some people to think that pigeons die after mating. And it may be connected to how pigeons don’t always get to live long lives when they are in the wild.
Due to the scarcity of available food, the presence of predators, the abundance of diseases, and the different changing environmental conditions in the wild, you cannot expect a pigeon to live very long lives. Most of the time, wild pigeons tend to live somewhere between three to six years, and that is what probably has led some people to believe that pigeons are animals that mate themselves to death. But really isn’t true because pigeons are birds that may not live long enough in the wild but can live for up to more than a decade in captivity even when they are paired with another pigeon and are continuously mating.
Of course, it also isn’t rare for pigeons to die right or soon after mating. But that can be attributed to a lot of different things such as food scarcity and weather conditions and not due to how they actually mate themselves to death. This is the same as other animals as it is quite normal for certain species to die after mating because mating can sometimes be too stressful for them. But it surely isn’t due to the actual act of mating that these animals die.
In fact, pigeons can be parents to over 30 pigeons throughout their lifetime. And no pigeon can give birth to at least 30 offspring if it actually dies after mating for the very first time.
Why do some pigeons die after mating?
As mentioned, it really isn’t odd for pigeons to die after mating just like how other animals can also end up perishing after reproducing. But, again, mating isn’t the direct cause of death here as there are plenty of different factors that can actually lead to a pigeon’s death after it mated. We have given a few examples above but we will talk more about them here.
- Stress
It really isn’t rare for animals to be under a lot of stress during their reproductive season. The reasons can vary but it has been shown that birds can be under a lot of stress during reproduction, and that is why it isn’t uncommon for pigeons to feel stressed whenever they are mating.
So, because a pigeon may end up getting stressed during mating season, its health will deteriorate as a result of the elevated stress levels. This can lead to illness or probably even death not as a result of mating but as a result of its deteriorated health right after mating or during the reproductive season.
- Predation
Predators are smart and crafty enough to know when to take advantage of a situation that is perfect for them to get an easy meal. That said, when pigeons or any other bird species are mating or are focused more on reproducing, this becomes a good opportunity for predators to try to take advantage. As such, when the predator sees that one of the pigeons is vulnerable or has let its guard down, it can easily pounce on it.
Pigeons have plenty of natural predators that you can see in most environments. This can include cats (domestic or feral), snakes, large lizards, bigger birds of prey (such as eagles, owls, falcons, hawks, or even crows), and foxes. So, if they see the perfect chance to attack and pounce on a pair of pigeons that are mating or have just mated, they may take advantage of the situation.
- Illnesses
Of course, illnesses are quite common among pigeons as well. Certain illnesses or diseases can be passed on from one pigeon to another at any given moment. And this can easily happen when two pigeons mate because of how they are in close contact with one another.
If one of the pigeons in the pair is afflicted with a disease or an illness, it can easily pass it to its mate. And that is why, if the mate is not healthy enough, it may end up perishing right after reproducing with its mate.
- Environmental conditions
Finally, environmental conditions can easily kill pigeons in a pair if they are not strong or healthy enough to survive such conditions. These can be extreme conditions where the weather may suddenly become too cold or too hot for the pigeons to handle. As such, during mating season, it won’t be rare for one or both of the pigeons to die.
Do pigeons mate for life?
In most cases, animals tend to be polygamous creatures in the sense that they will mate and reproduce with any available animal of the same species but of the opposite sex. When such is the case, it usually happens only once such as when the male bolts right after reproducing or when the couple will only stay together as soon as the offspring are born. After that, they might end up reproducing again if given the chance in the future but there is no assurance that the two will remain mates throughout their entire lifetime.
However, that isn’t usually the case in most birds because monogamy is quite common in a lot of different avian species. That simply means that plenty of birds mate for life and will stay with their mate and continue to reproduce exclusively together for the rest of their lives. So, do pigeons mate for life?
One of the things that you should know about the pigeon and why it doesn’t die after mating is that these birds actually mate for life. That means that, once a pigeon pair has already been established, they will stay together and will continue to reproduce exclusively as a pair as long as they are still healthy enough to reproduce. This further proves that pigeons do not mate themselves to death and will most likely still survive after mating so that they can reproduce with each other again in the future.
As soon as they have paired with one another, pigeons will live together and will continue to reproduce as long as they can. They will also remain faithful to one another throughout the entire time. Even long distances don’t usually lead a pigeon to become unfaithful
However, even if pigeons do indeed mate for life, that doesn’t mean that a pigeon will end up dying if its mate also dies as a result of many different causes. After all, there is no assurance that one of the pigeons in a pair will survive long enough to mate indefinitely as natural causes or other similar reasons can actually end up killing one of the birds.
So, when that happens, the surviving bird of the two is free to find another mate similar to how people can actually remarry if their spouse dies. This means that pigeons won’t end up dying as a result of their mates dying as they can still re-mate or re-pair with other pigeons if they are still healthy and strong enough to continue to reproduce.
But it is also common for one of the pigeons to actually be infertile or barren. This means that it isn’t capable of reproducing. When this happens, it also becomes likely that the two ends up separating mutually. But because these birds don’t know which between them is infertile, they will look for new mates after separating so that they can resolve the infertility issues.
Do pigeons have a mating ritual?
Like a lot of other birds or animals, pigeons also have their own unique mating habits, which they usually do to try to convince the other pigeon to mate with it. Of course, the males are the ones who practice this mating ritual to try to woo the female to choose it among all of the other available male pigeons in a flock.
Once a male pigeon has chosen a female pigeon it wants to mate with, it will begin to try to show off to impress its love interest. What happens here is that it will begin cooing in a specific way so that it will attract the female. At times, it might even appear to be arrogant and show off its manliness, which is quite common among any kind of animal because females are more likely to want to mate with a strong male.
If the male was successful in showing off, the female will try to show interest by giving signs of invitation to the male so that they can mate. After that, it becomes friendly and will actually invite the male to be its mate. The pair would now find a place where they can make and build a nest together.
It is the building of the nest that allows them to mate as they need the nest for mating. The pair will mate shortly after the nest has been completed. Soon after, the female will become pregnant and will lay one or two eggs, which it will need to sit on for more than 24 hours. The male will also take turns with the female so that the mother pigeon can eat and rest.
