How often many of us have seen pigeons in our lives, and at the same time how little we know about them. All the known information about our smoking neighbors most often boils down to the fact that they feed on seeds and various cereals (who will pour something), do not fly away for the winter and like to shit from the roofs. We have no time, and there is no reason to learn more - we think. Meanwhile, the world of even the animals most familiar to us can be very exciting.
Why pigeons nod their heads when walking is a question that probably all of us at least once asked ourselves. But for many, he, along with other questions about the life of these birds, still remains a mystery. For those who still decided to get a little closer to our feathered neighbors, this short story was created. In particular, let's try to figure out why pigeons have such a funny gait.
General information about pigeons
The weight of an adult pigeon usually varies from 200 to 650 g. Most often on the streets we see blue pigeons, which are one of 35 existing species. This genus of birds can be found in countries located on three continents of the earth: Africa, Eurasia and Australia. The life of a wild dove usually does not last more than 5 years. In captivity, they live 2-3 times longer, in rare cases reaching even 35 years.
Since people learned how to create new breeds of pigeons, more than 800 have been bred. Of these, about 200 are in Russia. A known feature of these birds to fly to their native nests even when they are hundreds of kilometers from them. They can reach speeds of up to 100 km / h. The ancient Greeks, Persians, Romans, Jews and Egyptians learned to transmit various news through them. In many countries, pigeon mail operated officially, and it was especially actively used during the war.
Strange Pigeon Walk
We are so accustomed to these feathered creatures that we either do not notice them at all, or everything in their behavior seems to us quite ordinary and explainable. But sometimes observing the pigeons in the park or at the bus stop may lead us to some questions.
For example, why doves poke their heads when walking? This strange gait seems very uncomfortable, it seems that it is given to them with great difficulty. But this is only at first glance. In fact, if they are created with the ability to move in this way, then this was a necessity. In nature, nothing happens in vain.
Pigeon Walk Explained
There are many hypotheses about why pigeons nod their heads when walking. Some believe that in fact the nodding effect is created visually, but in fact the bird does not move it, moving only its body. The reason for the features of the pigeon's gait is sometimes explained by the need to maintain the balance of the body. To this end, small birds usually jump, and large birds waddle.
Someone believes that the structure of the pigeon, or rather the location of his eyes, is the cause of this phenomenon. The fact is that the eyes of the bird are set on the sides of the head, and therefore it has monocular vision. And precisely in order to see the whole picture in front of her, she makes a sharp nod when walking.
What did one experiment show?
In 1976, one scientist set up a very interesting experiment with pigeons. He placed the bird in a cube, where he installed a special treadmill so that the pigeon did not have the opportunity to get off it. The purpose of this experiment was to check whether the bird would nod its head in such an environment.
As it turned out, in such conditions, birds stop nodding their heads. Observation of the pigeon running along the treadmill led the scientist to conclude that they needed a nod to stabilize the image. In the process of running on a treadmill, which moved along with the pigeon, the need to stabilize the visible environment disappeared. According to this study, the explanation of this issue is most reasonable to look for in how doves see. By the way, if you blindfold the pigeon, he will also stop nodding, taking a step.
Unique dove vision
The difference between pigeon vision and human vision is that a person perceives the movement of objects, seeing 24 frames per second, and for this you need to see as many as 75 frames. Therefore, they perceive everything that is happening around them as separate pictures, which means that they notice an object approaching them at the last moment.
And although in this the pigeon's vision is inferior to human, it has obvious advantages. None of us can boast the ability to see as far as these birds. Just imagine, a pigeon is able to see an object at a distance of three kilometers. Assessing this advantage, the US Coast Guard even used their help in search and rescue operations.
How much we still do not know about our usual, it would seem, environment. We see pigeons so often and know so little about them. Knowing why pigeons nod their heads while walking, it will be much more interesting to watch these birds. Now you can try to imagine what the world looks like in their eyes and become a little closer to them. Let's notice the world around us, because it is very interesting and beautiful.