Representatives of pigeons amaze the imagination with a variety of species that differ in size, shape and color of plumage. Large breeds of pigeons reach the size of an adult chicken, and the smallest - a little more than a sparrow.
City pigeons trust the person trustfully and quickly become almost tame. And their wild brethren are more careful, and it is very difficult to approach them at close range.
These birds have excellent eyesight and hearing. Their voice is low, the sounds they make are deaf, cooing.
The first wild pigeons, according to studies, appeared in nature as far back as 35 million years ago. All present species have one common ancestor - the gray pigeon, which is now widespread in Europe, South Asia, North Africa and the Caucasus.
People have always had a special relationship with pigeons. For ancient Jews, this bird symbolized love and moral purity, Palestinians sacrificed it to their gods, for Christians, the dove is a symbolic embodiment of the Holy Spirit, and in the modern world symbolism this bird represents peace and friendship.
Breeders bred a lot of decorative breeds that surprise with their unusual appearance. For example, the neck of a warty pigeon is decorated with a “collar-collar”, among species of Asian pigeons you can see birds more resembling peacocks with a luxurious tail plumage, and the Jacobi dove has a crested crown on its head.
Feeding pigeons
These birds are extremely voracious. The main diet of their diet is cereals, seeds, fruits, berries, very rarely small insects. Even a small pigeon can make long flights in search of food.
Pigeons adapt quite easily to the food a person offers them. In urban conditions, these birds often find their livelihood in garbage piles and garbage cans. Their illegibility in the choice of food is explained by a very small number of taste buds in the tongue, which are only about 40 (for comparison, a person has more than 10 thousand).
Water is of great importance for pigeons, because with it, grains swell in the stomach and are well digested. These birds drink in a very unusual way: they immerse their beak to the very nostrils in the liquid and so suck it.
A small dove, up to a month old, eats its goiter’s milk. A week after the birth, parents feed him already "milk" with the addition of softened grains, gradually increasing their number. Around the age of 20 days, a small pigeon can already peck small millet and gradually gets used to self-feeding. If parents have problems with goiter milk, then adoptive parents, the nannies, can feed the kids.
Breeding pigeons
All members of the pigeon family are exclusively monogamous. Most couples remain unchanged throughout life. Since pigeons are significantly domesticated, their reproduction occurs at any time of the year. The exception is birds living in the cold climate of the northern hemisphere. There, these birds mainly breed in warm time - from March to October.
Pigeons must conduct a mating dance - a ritual before mating. The male walks in circles near the female, spreads her tail, bends her head to the ground, makes a beautiful coo.
For hatching eggs, a pigeon pair together builds a nest from a bunch of blade of grass, thin twigs and feathers. If pigeons live in a calm place, then they can use the same nest several times, simply increasing its size.
Usually, one pair during a year has seven to eight clutches of one or two eggs. Parents hatch their offspring in turn. A small dove appears after about twenty days.