That Cher Ami, despite its injuries, half dead, still flew to where he was supposed to go, instead of literally anywhere else in its pain and panic, is more proof than anything else in this video, that these birds are loyal and intelligent.
Pigeons have a innate ability to find home, where ever they are they will return home. So Cher Ami was probably going to that place from pain and panic, still an absolute legend.
Fun fact: pigeons purr when they are happy. This is most commonly seen with pet pigeons. They also love being petted and will take being petted over treats when they are pets.
Smartest pigeon I ever saw was one who faked an injury to get food. When it saw someone eating it would droop it's wings and limp towards them, looking as pathetic as possible. The people it approached seemed to feel sorry for it and threw it some food. Once it finished the food it stood up as normal and strutted away perfectly fine to find it's next victim. I saw it use the same trick successfully on multiple people!
@@s-w I'm guessing it was maybe genuinely sick/injured at some point, realised people gave it more food during that time and so kept up the act. I've also seen pigeons wait at street crossings for the lights to change before walking across and hopping onto trains to travel to different parts of the city.
This video really opened my eyes on how disrespected pidgeons are by the entire human population on top of everything else. Poor goobers literally got bullied by basically every animal on the planet and then to add insult to injury they were straight up abandoned and humiliated by humans despite how much good they’ve done for them.
@@yungxsixbigswagdady6970 This is an example of something called ecofacism, which can be described as environmentalism through genocide. It exists on the crux that all humans are inherently evil or problematic and should die to protect the world. Obviously, all humans are not evil, and an extinction of our species is irrational to wish for because human nature is inherently *neutral.* It is predominantly the wealthy who cause damage to the environment and to our ecosystems, as you can see from the influence of a wealthy politician slamming birds.
Man I hate how humanity goes from respecting the potential of an animal, to blaming them for stuff they are not even related to, like imagine how much could’ve got done if we didn’t give up on using them and showed their abilities respect
I found out that the Catholic Church was souly to blame for the black plague that devastating Europe and other countries. They were so suspicious of cats being connected to the devil that they murked them on site. After that, the rats that were carrying the fleas who had the plague went wild.
Pidgeons are honestly the only bird I could keep as a pet without going insane. I also never understood the hate, especially since I grew up in a town with way too many seagulls and those WILL aidrop you and steal your food.
I get what you mean. I've lived in a city with pigeons and seagulls and the seagulls are way more intimidating. Also, while I do like birds and I like watching other people's videos of their pet cockatoos and macaws, I don't think I have it in me to deal with parrots, especially the large ones, 24/7 for like 70 years. Huge respect to those who do! Pigeons seem a bit more calm in comparison, but I haven't seen as many videos about people talking about their pet pigeons so idk for sure.
Same, my grandma had pigeons as indoors pets. They were easy to clean after since some will prefer to have a potty spot, they are very smart and feisty. They could fend off cats and dogs, literally never had any of the cats even attempt to attack it. And one would just walk around the house and eat from their food bowls like the little prick it was. You can let them free fly without a worry (minus hawk danger but ours were lucky) since they always find a way back home. They also form bonds with people (which I was not happy about because that makes the bird hormonal but explain that to my grandma) and they like pets. Excellent pet, made my grandma very happy. I might also add that it was just a wild pigeon, we found a baby on the street and kept it (twice).
Yeah, Pigeons are actually really polite not to poop above a person. Oh sure your parked car or side of the building might not be safe, but they dont bukake the streets like Seagulls do.
As someone who use to have pigeon because they would fall off their nest that in the tree that i use to have they are way better pets than parrots and don't require constant playtime unlike what you need to do with parrots they are chill too and don't become agressive all of the sudden like parrots do
Once my boyfriend and I were standing at a quai wall at the riverside, holding hands and looking at the sunset when I noticed a pigeon couple about 20 metres away from us, sitting on the railing. It was not mating season, they were just a couple sitting close to each other, enjoying the view at the riverside, exchanging kisses and snuggles and showing each other true affection. Just like us. It had a lasting impact on how I think of them (though I never hated them to begin with).
Also a funfact: Pigeons can pretty much speed run de-evolution. Look up how many generations it takes for pigeons, if you mix their breeds, to return back to becoming a basic rock pigeon. TWO. Well, two to three. But it goes that fast. It takes like a year. That would be like breeding a Chihuahua with a poodle, that offspring with another random dog and they return to being a wolf again.
Anyone who says pigeons are the rats with wings has never dealt with seagulls. Like everything in this video people think pigeons are, seagulls _actually_ are.
I dealt with seagulls personally one-on-one. They are very misunderstood. I had a seagull live with me for about a month because he was injured. We used to nap together. He would follow me and would eat from my hands. He was vocal and made these kind of chicken clucking sounds at me and dialate his eyes. After he healed and he left, he would still fly over my place sometimes calling out to me with the same sounds he used to make for me.
Just a reminder: Pigeons are domesticated. Parrots are not. Pigeons are also sweet, gentle, very emotionally sensitive pets, and even if they do attack, their beaks can't break skin like a parrot's can. They're also much, MUCH quieter. Beginner bird owners should consider a pigeon, not a parrot.
Knowing what I know about rats, "Rats with Wings," is soon to become a term of endearment. Especially if Pigeons get a major PR boost like their ground fairing kin.
@XWierdThingsHappenX My dad raised pigeons when I was a kid. They really are amusing birds. My childhood was pretty amazing, raising different birds and fowl. You should get one!
In the early 1940s, the british government launched a program (Operation Columba) to gather intelligence from occupied territories by air-dropping pigeons over civilian areas in France and Belgium. This was actually moderately successful, and caused enough of a problem for the germans that they made it illegal to possess pigeons in France. This killed the pigeon-keeping hobby and is a major factor in why there are so many feral pigeons. The book "Secret Pigeon Service" by Gordon Corera provides some very interesting information on the subject and talks about how the british were *this* close to having a full map of the german defenses on the northern french coastline.
Thats not even the only 1940s Pigeon-based military operation. In the early 1940s the US Military piloted a program called "Operation Pigeon" which placed pigeons in the nose cone of aerial bombs in order to guide them, using lenses and a screen, which would project the intended target in such a way that pigeons would peck at the screen. Using pivots and sensors, the birds would peck at the target. If the target drifted offcenter, the offset pecking would pivot the screen, and the sensors sent that data to the control surface, effectively guiding the bomb to the target. It didnt work. It got picked up by the Navy a few years later and rebranded to "Project Orcan" It also didnt work, then computers happened. Real good use of the R&D budget 🙃
The fact that pigeons are all essentially strays that we abandoned makes me so sad. Like, I consistently will go buy birdseed and peanuts and stuff like that so they have healthier things to nibble on than leftover fries, cigarette butts, and garbage.
I'm so glad to see this. Pidgeons are crapped on by media left and right, fiction and non, but I never knew where it all started. As shared here, they have such a rich history of companionship and symbiosis with humans. People bred and trained them like dogs, but pigeons don't get to be man's dear friend anymore. Man rejected his dear friend. Hopefully we don't see even more rejection of his best friend. What's worse is that doves are seen as symbols of purity, goodness, life, and peace... but they're just pigeons with pretty privilege.
@@The_Kharski it's a white ish, thick, fatty substance thats produced in a throat flap called a crop. pigeons produce and hork this up to feed their babys. it supposedly looks more like cottage cheese than milk, but between that and the babyfood its called crop "milk". so yknow brewster in animal crossing is like, heres a complimentary loogie its good for you
The little heart-shaped pillow on their beak is called the 'cere' and it's velvety soft. It actually grows as the bird ages, and looks more like a buildup of coral.
As a kid, we had this brown and white pigeon that hung around our house. We named him Rupert, and he would occasionally just walk inside for a snack or hang out. I can fully attest that they're smarter than people give them credit for.
I spent some time working at a wildlife rescue and we had one 'failure' wood pigeon who never left the sight after rehabilitation and release. Anyone who stepped outside was at risk of being the unwitting perch for a very friendly bird demanding cuddles.
i remember we were in an public farm (where folks visit and sometimes buy products from) it was autumn so they had a week event like corn maze to tractor riding, to touching rabbits and goats... this time it was a pigeon who followed the father and daughter before the guy gave to me this domesticated pigeon which we dont know the owner of.. (possibly the farmer or some bird keeper nearby) as it was tagged.. i felt happy to caress it, give gentle pets, showed to my cousin.. before a lady along with her 5 friends was interested with the pigeon I picked along with and gently gave it to her as I was living with my family who might get weirded out due to the same scared of being near 'wild/dirty' birds and our home not open of a big place with a bird.. I was asking anybody if anyone knew any owner of the bird to identity the colored tag... i cant help but wonder whether the lady ask out the farmer about the bird or kept it themselves
Lesser known fact about pigeons, they are incredibly affectionate. I once found a 5 days old one in the street and picked it up to care for it, as soon as it could fly it decided to do the cuddles with me and no barrier could stop it.
as a bird vet, bird owner and birdwatcher... it's so satisfing to see your character development. i wish more people had the balls to simply google pigeons and learn something, like you did. thank you for the video!!
Fun fact. Carrier pigeons were used in WW1 to deliver messages into enemy territory. They were so effective that germans trained peregrine falcons to intercept them. Soilders would shoot at them on sight, sometimes taken prisoner if caught. A very short life expectancy but some flew so many missions that they would retire them with medals. They literally played a major part in battle and who knows if they were never used. Edit: I typed this before I watched the whole vid where the uploader later states all this info.
The crazy part is the effectiveness of a peregrine falcon was 35%!!!! Yes that's alot but considering the falcon should literally dominate. They were still fast enough and agile enough to make maneuvers the falcons couldn't.
@@tiredanddepressed wow I didn't know that. I remember watching this kid movie called Valiant, about the carrier pigeons of the war and there were these nazi falcons that I just assumed were there because they had to have animal bad guys, and falcons were a natural predator. The more you know!
@@tiredanddepressed The falcon is built for them, but the pigeon has one defense move where it dive bombs right before its snatched. It's a one shot maneuver, obviously. There was one pidgeon that flew so many missions, they had to retire her to let her live out her life. She came back ruffled up and scratched up, but always came back. Amazing birds.
There's an animated movie about carrier pigeons named Valiant, don't know how well it's aged since last I watched it but I remember it being a pretty solid movie.
Now I see why Nikola Tesla (yes, THE inventor Tesla) basically considered pigeons to be his best friends. The man purportedly even built a special apparatus just to allow one pigeon he found to heal its broken leg and wing, along with having made a point to feed pigeons in the areas where he lived. Yet another way in which Tesla was ahead of his time: recognizing that pigeons are actually pretty cool, smart birbs and not unhygienic menaces.
Thankfully Tesla died before pigeons' reputation tanked like this, so he didn't have to witness it himself. I'm sure it would have broken his heart if he had to see that.
This makes sense now. I thought the implication was that he was going crazy in the end. But he was really just a bit lonely and adopted some dogs. I mean, they use a litter box? What a great video.
Seriously, who was the absolute BRAINLET of a rich person to go _"Y'know what a pigeon needs? Swollen pepperoni eyelids and a broken beak! Let's make an entire breed to look like that!"_
Another fun fact: Mike Tyson also loved pidgeon since he was 9 years old, he claimed that they were an escape from the bullying he endured as a child. He still loves them to this day, and his pidgeon coupe is quite luxurious, in fact he only gives them Fiji water to drink.
Not gonna lie, I have gained a lot of respect for Mike over over the last few years. Mostly due to his sense of humor. The man literally sold candies in the shape of an ear, I cannot help but respect that lol.
I have a ''pet pigeon'', I rescued her when she was a little chick that fell from the nest in the middle of the city. When she had grow enough I set her free, but she never wanted to leave! She's pure love, she loves napping on my lap and asking for attention, and yes, she surprises me every day with how intelligent she actually is. She also loves my mother and she is capable of identifying her voice through the phone, she always comes flying from the other side of the house when she hears her!! They're incredible 🥰
Thank you for rescuing the baby, last year I found a hatchling whose parents had apparently chosen an unfortunate spot for a nest. Unsure if the baby had just started hatching or was about to but wound up on the ground still mostly in its shell, no longer alive. My heart still hurts for the poor thing but it’s always soothing to hear not all of these stories end that way
I'll never understand why people hate pigeons so much. They're one of the most amazing and important birds in history, not to mention that they're one of the best pet birds out there
I didn’t even know people disliked pigeons. They’re nice, sound nice, and they look nice. They’re no different than any species which lives close to humans. They only become dirty when the human settlement becomes dirty first.
I remember when I was little I used to love birds. When I moved to Texas, I caught notice of a species known as the "White-Winged Dove" and I always loved looking at some from a distance. One day at a park, I noticed one with a bullet wound and told my parents if we could take it to the vet. I held it in my arms, and it was so sweet to me. It knew I wasn't danger the moment I wasn't attacking it. Unfortunately, it passed away recovering from the wound, but that moment always wanted me to get a pet pigeon or dove. I never knew why these birds get bad rep...
A bit more context with Cher Ami. The battalion wasn't just getting attacked by the enemies, they were also getting attacked by their allies as well. So they were sandwiched between 2 lines of fire, and it took 3 pigeons, Cher Ami being the third pigeon, that was sent out for the battalion to get rescued
In 2017, I was on a military training exercise in the Mojave desert. It was night, and I was on day 4 without any sleep, barely functioning, and sitting in my Humvee with the door open and eating an MRE. I was out of it, to say the least. So this dog comes over, looks at me kinda confused and startled, and I just instinctively held out a piece of food for him and he comes over and takes it- and I just idly scratched his head and told him 'good boy'. He walked away, and that's when I realized something. I'm in the Mojave desert, the middle of nowhere, on a military exercise at night. No one has dogs here. I suddenly realized "I just gave a coyote some of my food and pet him like a dog, and that just happened" and did a double take on the animal that walked about 20 yards away- yep, coyote. The thing is, the coyote also realized this at the same time and did a double-take on me. I think we were both kind of embarrassed.
@@magentaplatinum1430 there was a silent agreement between us to not speak of this I guess I violated it. Sorry Coyote Bro, but I think we were both in the same headspace
The worst thing that humans did to any pigeon was the tragedy of the passenger pigeon. They went from billions to extinct in less than a century due to overhunting and destruction of nesting and habitat. The flocks were so big that there was a report from like 1855 Columbus Ohio of a flock flying over the city. They blotted out the sun and took two hours to pass over completely. People were running and screaming and hiding to get out of the streets and once the flock was gone the town was basically painted white. Famous conservationist Aldo Leopold once called them "feathered tempests" which is cool as hell.
I think, I want to also mention, that another reason they went extinct, is that I think I read somewhere, is that these swarms of them were the only way the could breed. Like, they didn't have good conception rates, and these swarms helped them with that. I'd assume once a swarm started to die down, they too would.
@@AuraAi We learned in evolutionary bio about that. It was an excellent strategy until firearms became common and the increase of humans during the industrial revolution. Most animals would not be able to consume a whole flock, but a group of people with shotguns could cause terrible damage.
Humans disowning pigeons always made me sad growing up. Last year some mourning doves made a nest in one of my plants and it was so wonderful just to watch them from my window. 💜
I instantly teared up the literal second I saw the picture of Cher Ami. I didn't realize I would recognize a picture of a pigeon, but I recognized him immediately. One day, I hope to go to the Smithsonian, and I'm gonna cry just being near him.
One of the main reasons why rats are commonly blamed for the plague is because while they did carry the plague, it was caused by the fleas on the rats instead of the rats themselves
I think there's a theory that people were what was carrying the plague from city to city. Reason being is that rats can't travel fast enough to account for how fast it spread.
@@Duamerthrax This theory does track a bit, but rats traveled via ships (People had ships back then) Which made it to major coastal cities much faster. People going horse from the origin is going to have a much slower spread and their gonna die fairly quickly in their journey, ultimately it seems like it it was the fleas on the rats that spread. It started with the fleas, and ended up with human transmission, but not just human transmission.
@@krishadyn5211dude it isn’t captivity. It’s like if we all decided we hated golden retrievers and threw them out, let their coats get matted and nails overgrown, and then made fun of them for it. Would you call it “captivity” then? Knowing they rely on us?
@@krishadyn5211"Rewilding" yeah totally, we "rewilded" them to a place not even remotely like their orginal home and they still stick around us for their survival totally "rewilding"
my friend had a pigeon named Fareed that he trained without prior knowledge to come to him and only him if he snapped his fingers , my pet cat also tried so hard to get him but could not even touch him , pigeons here in Egypt are precious pets and lovable creatures ( and meals ) . R.I.P Fareed 💔
Cher Ami's story is actually a bit better than what he says. Cher Ami wasn't released just because they had no food/water/ammo, but also because the soldiers were trapped in a zone being shelled by US artillery batteries. His ears were getting violated and organs getting vibrated by bombardment and even with multiple gunshot wounds delivered the message that stopped the bombardment and got them rescued. For you Sabaton fans out there Cher Ami had saved The Lost Battallion.
My grandpa raised Birmingham Rollers since he was a child. He helped me build my own coop and gave me some breeding pairs. I kept a full genealogy and cared for those birds every day. My grandpa died a couple years later and I remember going out to the coop and crying for hours. I was so glad that I had that time with him and my pigeons to remember him by.
@@ozzypawsborneprinceofbarkness Thank you. And sorry if I was nosy, I just couldnt' imagine a whole flock of birds not having anyone to care for them after he did so well for them.
Don't forget 'pigeon' also used to be an affectionate nickname to call someone, typically a girl or woman, like the Tramp called Lady. Basically it meant 'sweet little thing' because people used to regard pigeons that way.
@@beastmaster0934 My guess is that calling a girl "pigeon" was from Beatnik culture. Note how Lady's humans call each other "Jim Dear," and "Darling." -Dear and darling were older, more 'establishment' affectionate nicknames, whereas young Beatniks were bringing all kinds of new slang to American dialogue. Considering the movie came out in 1955 and the Tramp was a freewheeling rebel type, I suspect his lingo was meant to emulate Beat talk.
There’s a quote by primatologist Frans de Waal that I will never forget: “The possibility that empathy resides in parts of the brain so ancient that we share them with rats should give pause to anyone comparing politicians with those poor, underestimated creatures.” Being compared to a rat is a compliment. Like pigeons they are smart, clean and genuinely interesting creatures we could do much to learn from.
And this is why I’m Vegan. Because animals have sentience, emotions, attachments, can feel pain, fear, terror, betrayal, hopelessness. Anyone who claims to be an animal lover but consumes animals and animal products is a hypocrite. Think about not WHAT you’re eating, but WHO you’re eating.
You should be. We had a crow nest near our house and whenever they got scared of us. They would pluck our plants out from the soil. They're way smart than we assume
Jewelry store around here has a vending machine for crows... they drop a coin or "ring mostly" inside and it spits out food (anything heavy and shiny is what they grab).@@jibranbhat8711
I used to have a genuine crow plague in the park near my old house. _(entirely my fault, but i love crows so i didn't mind as much as everyone else did)_ We at some point started feeding the crows there, and when more arrived, we fed more. _This went on for about 5 years._ By the time we decided we should stop, there were probably about a couple hundred (if not more) crows gathered in the park, waiting every time for when we would dump local bakery's left over bread by the metaphorical truckload. Our street neighboring the park ended up calling it 'Crow's Nest' (Dutch: het Kraaiennest). About 4 years ago i moved. I stopped feeding them 6-7 years ago, but they never stopped coming, and made our park their local hang-out. I still occasionally fed some in my garden at my old home, but never again the wheelbarrow full of treats i'd bring them weekly, and the amount of crows in my garden was usually limited to only 20 to 30. Now, i didn't move that far, only some 45 kilometers down the road, but one thing i didn't expect is for the crows to follow me to my new home. I had one tapping on my window about 2 weeks after i moved in. I can't confirm they're the same crows, but everywhere i go both crows and to some small degree jackdaws just kind of sit there, waiting for the master of treats to bestow upon them the deliciousness they've come to expect. They camp in my garden, patiently waiting for me to hand them their weekly meal. And whenever i'm in public, especially on my lunch walk to the supermarket, crows actively follow me, and fly overhead. The reason why i believe they followed me is because usually you only really see a fuckton of Jackdaws in the Netherlands, but now my town has been practically overrun by crows, and the jackdaws have almost become a rare sight. I have become the Crowfather. Bringer of blessings to generations of crows. And i will carry on my duty for the rest of my life, however many crow-centuries that might be. They have blessed me with their trust, and so i shall in turn reward their trust with food. TL;DR: I fed crows and now my weekly blessings of food have been ingrained in local crow culture, and i have an army of crows follow me around. 👍 Crows are smart. Respect the crows. _They probably know where you live. Like, literally._ Pigeons i hate, but blackbirds i have come to have huge respect and appreciation for.
My grandfather used to breed carrier pigeons as he was a war vet that handled them during his service. So I understand the fear as I was too. But I do admire and respect them as well.
@@IntrovertedPotato As far as birds go their unique taste can be closer compared to ducks than anything else I've ever eaten (which aside them is just the big four, chicken, turkey duck and goose). But that taste is a lot lighter and doesn't dominate as much, so about an inbetween of chicken and duck.
As someone who works in a bird rescue I understand why Steve was afraid of large parrots. They can be pretty unpredictable and dangerous if you don't learn and respect their communication.
This. I have a rescued Pacific parrotlet. She weighs 31 grams (close to one ounce) and while I love her more than anything, she was returned to the shelter multiple times for her aggression. I'm very cautious around the large parrots, because the damage they can deal with those beaks is no joke. My snake on the other hand? He doesn't get jealous, fly at people, and bite their necks.
Parrots are really scary! Growing up, one of my friends had a pet store, and I got to hold all manner of crazy pets from boa constrictors to tarantulas, bearded dragons to ferrets. All the animals I handled, only the parrot caused injury- it took a big chunk out of my hand with its beak.
If you train it right, they're amazing. The problem is that most people aren't dedicated trainers with enough time or knowledge on their own to do it. Then there are some parrots who are utterly insane and terrifying- these are Amazons, cockatoos, and scarlet macaws. I would own a blue and gold or a green wing or a hybrid macaw, and I would own basically any other parrot. Budgie, cockatiel, conure, eclectus, african gray, galah, ringneck, alexandrine, pionus, Senegal, etc. I would own any of those. And many other species. If a hyacinth macaw was dropped into my lap, even for a price that is not $18,000+, I might get one. Honestly my favourite parrots are blue and gold macaws, camelot macaws, catalina macaws, ruby macaws, and blue throat macaws. Oddly, my next favourite parrots are... Budgies. Yup, budgies! I love them!!
Yup. And once you know how surprisingly painful the bite of a tiny budgie/parakeet beak can be already, you just shudder to think about the level of injury an African Grey or Macaw can give you. This beak shape means business.
Thank you so much for this! I have had three generations of pigeons grow in my balcony and I have seen first hand how smart and lovable they can be. They were also very sweet and trusting once they realized that we meant them no harm and were actually providing them with food. The most beautiful part is how the pair treats each other with so much love and care- unfortunately for this particular pair, the female died leaving the male pigeon all alone. And he stayed alone for a long time and grew older and older until one day I saw him with another female pigeon and he finally looked happy. However he was already old and after a few months I found the female pigeon sitting by herself at their usual spot, calling for him. He never came back again. The female bird was driven out by a new pair after while and I never saw her again either. He was so sweet and I cried when it suddenly hit me that he would never come back to his spot. I was kid when I first saw them so he was kind of an unofficial pet and I was very attached. Sorry for the rant- but it was cathartic and I finally found a place to let it out lol. Thank you and love the content as alwayss!
@@chouleo They can, but it's super easy to follow them around and wipe it away when they poop. Or you can buy special diapers for them to wear that catch the poop. They're really cute; look like little overalls.
I absolutely adore pigeons, especially after hearing how they're actually incredibly intelligent and how they're a rare case of a species of bird not being a jerk whenever they're given the chance, so the positive press here is so appreciated. Also I'm terrified of turkeys (it's a long story) so I totally get where you're coming from.
They're the only birds in my garden which don't mob attack other birds at the feeding table. Crows, magpies, starlings and robins are bullies but pigeons are so chilled.
Mike Tyson has had pigeons for pets since he was a kid. As a matter of fact, the first fight he ever got in was over a pigeon. One of the kids in the neighborhood saw him carrying it around, and asked to see it. Young Mike Tyson showed him the pigeon, and the kid ripped its head off. He still keeps them as pets to this day.
We also attempted to use them as a guidance systems for bombs in the aptly named "Project Pigeon", they were basically the precursor to GPS guidance, but got shelved once electronic systems proved more reliable and cost effective. We also attempted to use bats in a very similar manner, which is also a very interesting read.
You forgot one really cool thing that only pigeons can do. Normally birds have to drink by taking some water into their beak and then raise their head up so that the water flows down their gullet. But pigeons have small hole at the tip of their beak that allows them to use their beak like a straw. No other bird can do that.
So, I volunteer for a wildlife rescue, and pigeons are the most common animals we get. Every time we get one, I am amazed with how much personality they can have (once they get well enough to start showing it). We've had sassy pigeons, sweet pigeons, chill pigeons, pigeons with the personality of a neurotic chihuahua.... and I struggle not to treat them like a pet, even with the ones that try to chop or bite you without hesitation. Speaking of, pigeons do have ways of defending themselves! The main one, and the most surprising, is wing chopping. The bird basically tries to punch you with the wrist of their wing as hard as they can, and it's startling the first couple times it happens. The amount of times I've seen a new Volunteer pull their hand back like they got shocked by the bird.... It's genuinely hilarious. They also bite, and while it feels like a pinch to us, it can fuck up another bird. We actually had to remove a bird from a prerelease enclosure cause the other pigeons decided they didn't like that individual, and tried to kill it. Also, they make for pretty decent pet alternatives to parrots, and can be trained to be ESA's.
I think this is my favorite video from you so far, I love seeing people give recognition and appreciation to animals that we all too often see as "pests"
They tend to congregate near human spaces where people will eat. When they do, they roost in human built- environment structures. When they do, they crap all night onto the ground below and because their diet is off-piste their scats are often loose and do not stand scrutiny. The result is an unsightly mess that curbs the appetite in an area where food is eaten, sold and eaten, served and eaten... you get the picture?
@santyclause8034 I have a medium-sized flock of turkey vultures that live in the big trees in my backyard ( if you don't know goodle them bc they're cool too, except their leavings look like some haphazardly splattered white paint buckets everywhere) lol so I do have some idea, idk like he said, we did pigeons wrong
@@santyclause8034 Simple solution to that is to clean around your restaurant like any other business would clean up to ensure their property is clean and presentable. People in residential properties maintain the outdoor portion of their property so why would it be any different for a business property? You own it, you take care of it.
I've been with this young man from the beginning, and seeing how much the videos have evolved has been fascinating enough, but also seeing how our host has grown more comfortable and open, and become more personable within the presentation... It's been a very interesting, entertaining, and incredibly informative journey. I think this guy should be teaching kids about animals, because taking this more casual approach keeps it from feeling like LEARNING (in the strictured, academically oppressive sense). Love this channel and all the videos, thank you for all you do!
Also, does anyone know his name? The host, I mean.... I feel weird calling him CASUAL GEOGRAPHIC, cause that's certainly not meant to be his personal handle.... That's just the name of the corporation.
I find it funny that they are called "rats with wing." Because rat are smart as hell. They can learn tricks and be potty trained. They are also really clean and social creatures to. So, ya, it is a huge compliment to be called "rats with wings."
Pigeons, rats, crows, coyotes - all victims of their own intelligence. They are smart enough to benefit from human activity instead of being displaced by it, and as a result, we see them as pests.
"Because rat are smart as hell. They can learn tricks and be potty trained. They are also really clean and social creatures to." Same goes for rats. So I guess the description is fitting. It's just that neither animal deserves the negativity associated with it. Edit: Just noticed that that's basically what you wrote. I blame it on being tired.
Thank you so much for recognizing them and giving them credit. Humanity really let them down, used and abandoned. They are amazing beings. Absolutely adorable too.
The eating pigeon story reminds me of one of the first times I went to the homeland (Colombia) and was walking around with my mom and saw a store with chickens in cages. I asked my mom excitedly “you can have a chicken as a pet?!” And she said “those aren’t pets.” I cried the rest of the day.
@@mato4334 nope, just shook me up for a few months. Same thing happened after I dissected a pig in school; I couldn’t eat pork for about a year. I’m fine now 😅.
@@carolinamurtha3102 Good news, though, you can totally have a chicken as a pet, provided you have a yard to keep them in. Do your research, obviously, but they're pretty easy to care for. They're also loyal, useful, and just damn cute! I'd recommend to get the chicks' sexes confirmed, because a lot of places won't allow roosters, especially suburbs, because they're LOUD.
@@woomy2343 I’m actually more of a rodent type person (rabbits, rats, mice, etc), but thank you for the tips 😄. That’s interesting that you can keep hens but not roosters because I live in a suburban type neighborhood and a neighbor in my complex totally has a rooster. We know this because it caws at dawn. Not all the time, we’ve never seen the rooster, but it’s so freaking odd.
@@carolinamurtha3102 Oh, then it's probably fine for you to keep roosters then where you live. I would personally look into the laws and policies in your neighborhood just to be sure. Also, not to be "that gal", but rabbits aren't rodents, they're lagomorphs.
I love these chonky little guys; they’re so gentle and sweet. ❤Breaks my heart to see the amount of injuries they sustain from city filth - namely debris and human hair tightened around their toes. They deserve better than their current reputation. 😢
I’m not sure if they still do, but when I was visiting the city in high school (22 years ago…), Montreal had communal “nests” for pigeons filled with lots of food, but the food was laced with birth control. This kept the pigeon population controlled without having to resort to setting up traps. I thought it was a rather elegant solution.
Yes. There are organizations setting up lofts all over to help them. I'm a pigeon rescuer, and we swap their eggs out every month for feggs (fake eggs) they sit on them for about 18 days, and then we remove them. Too many need homes already, so population control is important.
I have my Grandma to thank for loving a lot of animals that would be considered 'pests.' We live alongside a very busy road, in what used to be the middle of nowhere. Animals would get hit often, and my Grandma had a habit of taking them in and rehabilitating them when no one else would. One of my all time favorites was a mourning dove. She was so sweet, even when we were kids, and had endless patience with us coming in to oggle and pet her. She'd been poisoned by people, and then hit by a car. We eventually managed to rehabilitate her after almost 2 years! We let her go, and she'd come back every year, eventually with her mate. They'd come in the yard, hang around the house, eat the bird seed we left out. She did this for nearly a decade, until eventually her partner stopped coming, and then, two years later, so did she. Pidgeons, doves, and many other birds for that matter are absolute treasures, and should be treated as such!
12:36 bro when i was a kid i found a baby pigeon who somehow survived after falling from those hole things at the top of apartment buildings and bro was so cute and FAST AS HELL
Don't forget the 'Passenger Pigeon'. At one time they were the most numerous bird in the world, numbering 3 billion. Then humanity decided to hunt them to extinction, yes EXTINCTION! Christ, the pigeon certainly has had a raw deal.
Passenger pigeons were incredibly stupid and terrible at adaptation. If humanity tried to bring back some extinct animals, they should be bottom of the list.
Here in Turkey some historical mosques have stone nests for pigeons. Like they built miniature stone houses for them. Also they can learn tricks and stuff. They are really great pets too. My neighbor has 10 pigeons and he flies them regularly. Also I never saw a super dirty pigeon in my life. I think they are the second most popular avian pet in Turkey (first is the budgie, we are obssessed with budgies)
Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I've always found pigeons cute. Much like rats, they also have been observed to clean themselves a lot and enjoy baths. Their ability to find the way home despite being in the dark and put in random places in tests is actually insane.
okay, okay, but ever seen pigeons when they are all fluffed up or pudgy? THEY ARE, ADORABLE. On the serious note, poor pigeons, they don't deserve this.
Yepp that is a thing - you leave them on their own in foreign territory and wait how many return. It is actually pet cruelty and the losers add to the countless homeless pidgeons on the streets. Our flock multiplies by such "losers", we do not breed as there are enough pidgeons in this world, we adopt the ones breeders and racers abandon.
10:27 They also taught pigeons to identify enemy ships and were intended to be used in missiles as a guidance system. No joke they were gonna use pigeons for guided missiles
Every time I go to the state fair where I am, I am shocked at the horrifying abominations pidgeon breeders have created. I don't think any other animal has been this gruesomely twisted by us--not even dogs.
I'm not so sure. The pit bull family as a whole is a genetic mess, not only mentally, but physically. Higher frequency of allergies, mouth breathers because their block skulls limit how much they can get through their nostrils. Then you have the weirder ones, like the dachshund that literally looks like someone stitched a pit bulls head on it, or the pocket/toad bullies, that can barely walk, have short lifespans and literally cannot mate or give birth most of the time without human intervention. The whole idea behind pocket/toy breeds in general is crazy. Shrink a breed until it has countless physical and mental issues from having to stuff everything in a tiny "cute" package. To be honest I will never understand the appeal some people have for breeding inbred mutants and making a fortune off them. But the relationship between wealth and inbreeding sure helps explain the Habsburgs
I wasn't aware pigeons had such a bad reputation in the US. And every time I've heard the term "rats with wings" it's usually in reference to bats (bc they look similar) or seagulls. It's a shame it's now considered weird to have pigeons as pets
That reminds me, bats in Swedish are called "fladdermöss" which translates to "flutter mice". So it would make sense in a way that they're the "rats with wings". But I don't see rats as a negative, they're cute and intelligent.
I had a pet pigeon I raised from an egg, named Pidgey. He was legit one of the best birds I ever had, and I own parrots! Whenever I was sick and bed ridden, he would lay beside me in bed and just coo anytime he saw me wake up. He always wanted cuddles an to hang with the family, also dude was potty trained. I am so glad to see you face your fears and learn about these smart lil guys, thank you for sharing this wonderful video! They are amazing creatures and deserve far more love than majority of the world will ever give them.
I absolutely love pidgeons, they are amazing. Sometimes I take the train into a city over that is busteling with pidgeons just to watch and feed them. I love their walk, how they bob their head, how fast they go. This week I saw an almost completely white but spotted pidgeon lady and her man in a fountain taking a bath
I'll be damned if I let Woody Allen influence me so pure spite already has me looking at pigeons in a new light. I've appreciated carrier pigeons since Hey Arnold and hearing about them saving lives during wartime always makes me happy. I learned more about pigeons in this 15 minute video than I ever did during my school years and it's much appreciated. Welcome back, man.
They once conducted studies to find out how exactly pigeons find their way back home, but the studies only gave more questions. At the final test they made a pigeon blind and deaf (with a blindfold and stuff) and set it out somewhere in France, it still made its way back to its home in the Netherlands, almost even in record time. In the Netherlands flying pigeons is a sport. Many people will bring their pigeons to a place far a way, often in france, belgium or Germany and then see which ones make it home first. They found out that for the last 10 kilometers the birds followed the roads home, instead of going in a straight line they would precisely follow the roads on the ground. These animals are so fascinating
Yes, and then people like me have to rescue 100s of them due to this cruel "sport" of pigeon racing and ceremonial releases. They always say they always make it home. No, they don't. That's why we rescue and rescue and rescue... selfish humans.
@@kellystinydreamsbus yeah it certainly is a cruel sport, however, it's not always racing pigeons y'all are saving. My uncle has had 2 pretty big flocks of racing pigeons for over 30 years (obviously new birds every now and then) but he's never had a bird not come back. When not racing they also get free flying time every day, I definitely prefer that way of keeping above the way most show birds are kept. I have contacts in multiple bird rescues around where I live and all of them certainly have pigeons often but they aren't the majority of what they get at all, and most pigeons they get aren't racing pigeons either, as those have to be in top conditions to fly those distances so they aren't as susceptible to many of the dangers outside the others are.
@@DavidBonDavidalmost my entire family bloodline is either a famous doctor or a millionaire, which you unfortunately can't relate to, if you want proof I will be happy to send it 😊
4:00 yes she's half right. Urban pigeons have difficulty caring for themselves and nesting, but not so much trouble that they die off. However outside of cities they do just fine. The problem here is that pigeons are attracted to cities because the buildings resemble the cliffs and outcrops of their native ecosystem, but it has none of the resources they need. So they survive on trash and build nests out of the only three sticks they can find. So that girl is kinda right but mostly wrong. Its not totally because we domesticated them, its because we built an artificial environment that traps them voluntarily through their instincts. Lastly, its not so much that they are smart, they have a highly developed pattern recognition system. That has benefits for navigation at a distance for things like recognizing their roost, food sources, each other and making positive associations.
I adopted an injured pigeon as a kid and he was a first class bird pet - he knew his name, would come to folks when called and even learned tricks, the favorite being when he learned how to bring my dad a single cigarette from a pack along with the lighter - never managed to teach him how to light the cigarette though.
honestly that was probably more of a case of lacking the dexterity to do so too if anything, i whole heartedly believe if a pigeon had thumbs they could 100% learn to use a lighter. bet you could teach em matches tho
Lovely video. I once rescued an injured pigeon and cared for her whilst waiting for a space to come available in a rescue. She was named Littlelady and became tame very fast as I spent hours each day tending to her (in the bathroom away from our cat). At the rescue, they remarked on her gentle nature. Sadly, she had internal injuries which eventually claimed her life after a few weeks. She wont be forgotten. ❤
I rescued a roller pigeon a few months ago. He is the most amazing guy. I cannot fathom why he was bred to do backflips in mid air but he is a house pet now! Much better than a parrot or finches.
Having had all three(at the same time) I couldn't agree more, parrots will often make you regret you never got them and finches just seem to not thrive in a house setting, an every is what those tiny buggers need
@@mlem6951 I accidentally bought the perfect cage for him. It's a yaheetech 30x18x18. It has small doors so I can catch him and treat him for mites and lice. He must have had passengers. The one huge middle door fold down so I added wire supports so it stopped level when open as a landing pad. I have 3 cats so his room is a time share. He flies around in the morning and voluntarily returns to his cage then the cats can come into the room. He is messy with his food but poops are in one spot and not gross like they are eating garbage to survive. He is like a cat. He naps when they do.
I remember seeing a few stories of pigeons in Boston that knew exactly which subway trains to get on and where to get off to get around the city to different places to feed. Someone managed to track several and found this out. They're some of the smartest animals out there, and besides parrots and crows, probably the smartest birds.
@@sagesarrazine6270 My guess is that the feeding places they were trying to get to were still within the metro, so flying from above would be useless since they wouldn’t be able to locate the feeding area if they had only ever seen it from inside Edit: I’d assume flying can also be tiring. Plus, you’d have to swerve around buildings, poles, etc. Although I guess you could fly up high above the most of the buildings. Still have to consider things like the wind and temperature.
Rock pigeons are the ogs, they were domesticated and then bred for different colours and abilities, and as they were escaped or released they formed a new species known as the feral pigeon or the feral pigeon. The rock doves are really uncommon and what you see is the feral pigeon which can sometimes look identical to the rock dove but also comes with many more patterns and colours
Pigeons are capable of recognizing specific people too. There's a collared dove who frequents my yard. He's an abandoned pet and comes to my yard often because he knows that my girlfriend and I will give him both food and, more importantly to him, affection. Buddy will literally climb onto hands and ask for neck strokes and head kisses. He craves affection specifically, as he's basically entirely unable to identify with his wild brethren since he was clearly raised in captivity by himself. I've taken to calling him Dragon. Pigeons are my favorite birds and I'm really happy that people are putting more respect on their names these days. Pigeons are the only animals that can rival dogs in terms of how strong the loyalties they form with humans are.
My dad used to feed pigeons every weekend. He would drive down to the river with bread, bird seed, and cat kibble and just feed and hang out them. He would give them names and even identified their flying patterns to an extent. He did this so often that he bought a little stool specifically for this occasion. The pigeons began to recognize him and his car, even his new car when he got one. They would all flock to him and fight to sit on his arms or his head. He started to let them in the car and they would sit on the steering wheel or again on him. I don't know why he stopped, but we all have a soft spot for pigeons now, especially him. Every now and then we'll see pigeons eating at my moms bird feeder in our back yard, which use to make my mom upset because she didn't want them to poop everywhere, but she never did anything about it and now we expect them. We joke that they started showing up because they found my dad lol, which after watching this maybe they did and I like that thought
@@am_Nein He said it's because they kept putting signs up saying not to feed the birds. Every time they put up a new sign he would move further down the river, until I guess he gave up. He says he thinks he was the reason they put the signs up, which is really said cause not only did he really enjoy feeding them but he also got to know a lot of the people who were down there regularly. Someone even asked him if they could put him in the local paper because it was just a wholesome thing to see. We still have the newspaper clipping
@@beccabaxmeyer8823 great story. I understand the not feeding pidgeons here in the city where theres literally gazillions and they poop everywhere but outside i dont see why they would be a problem.
i once saw a pidgeon with most of its skull exposed and sunbleached, and it was still walking around like nothing was wrong with only one eye. they practice necromancy too.
They’re just extremely tough. There’s a reason their population is so high despite rarely getting their correct diet and living in bad conditions. They can get something called string foot where their feet can fall off due to lack of blood, but even without feet they’ll still be able to walk
I've been defending Pigeons for YEARS. I'm so glad I've found a place where everyone likes them too. If only the general public knew how fluffy and cute they are... I want one as a pet! They are so underrated but I think that's what makes them special.
pardon me for saying this but where i came from we love pigeons a lot but not as pets we love it as a food but yeah they are a good option as a pet just not the usual stereotype
I love pigeons, they're pretty smart and pretty dumb at the same time. I say dumb because they don't know how to rip their food apart like crows, but they're also smart, I've fed them the whole summer and they came to my window every day. I stopped however during autumn because I had to leave for uni, but this weekend I came back home and being winter they probably don't have enough food, so they saw me and came to my window again, my mom said they stopped coming a while ago, and they just saw me and decided to ask for some food again, they got really friendly and aren't too afraid of me anymore. It's gotten to the point that they eat from my hand and have no problem touching me, they're so sweet and lovely!
We have a pet pigeon. She's taken my mom as her "partner" and I'm an important flock member. She was actually looking around searching for me when I was hospitalized. Also, female pigeons are not that loyal. They are loyal, but will take the opportunity to have a little fling with another "male", and for example the pet pigeon will try and soap me up when mom is not around : ) They want to be around you and don't take loneliness well, is important to know.
My cousins had a white dove as a pet. We all swear she could recognize the voice cadence of someone telling a joke. She'd coo in a way that sounded like a laugh and would often be the first to laugh when someone told a joke.
Cher Ami the only messenger pigeon to reach the Lost Battalion’s headquarters section in WW1 I believe during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and is the most decorated bird maybe animal of all time.
That Cher Ami, despite its injuries, half dead, still flew to where he was supposed to go, instead of literally anywhere else in its pain and panic, is more proof than anything else in this video, that these birds are loyal and intelligent.
Cher Ami is a god damn legend.
Pigeons have a innate ability to find home, where ever they are they will return home. So Cher Ami was probably going to that place from pain and panic, still an absolute legend.
An absolute avain unit.
...and is a role model,@@jameshughes6355 !
If they really are that smart and observant, just imagine how well they know us just by watching us all day like in NYC.
Fun fact: pigeons purr when they are happy. This is most commonly seen with pet pigeons. They also love being petted and will take being petted over treats when they are pets.
I just saw that at the end, so cute
I want a pet pidgin now
I wanna pet a pigeon
we don't deserve pigeons
@@YaakovEzraAmiChi I'm definitely planning to get one when I'm in a better spot economically speaking.
Smartest pigeon I ever saw was one who faked an injury to get food. When it saw someone eating it would droop it's wings and limp towards them, looking as pathetic as possible. The people it approached seemed to feel sorry for it and threw it some food. Once it finished the food it stood up as normal and strutted away perfectly fine to find it's next victim. I saw it use the same trick successfully on multiple people!
I wonder how it learned that. Crazy.
@@s-w I'm guessing it was maybe genuinely sick/injured at some point, realised people gave it more food during that time and so kept up the act. I've also seen pigeons wait at street crossings for the lights to change before walking across and hopping onto trains to travel to different parts of the city.
@@onyxstewart9587 OK, on that part of how they navigate cities, I assume its just them learning from humans since they're apparently domesticated.
@@s-wfrom Neymar
@@onyxstewart9587cats do the same thing, maybe pigeons watched them.
This video really opened my eyes on how disrespected pidgeons are by the entire human population on top of everything else.
Poor goobers literally got bullied by basically every animal on the planet and then to add insult to injury they were straight up abandoned and humiliated by humans despite how much good they’ve done for them.
On average human nature is disgustingly cruel, thats what makes the good in the individuals even greater.
@@yungxsixbigswagdady6970 This is an example of something called ecofacism, which can be described as environmentalism through genocide. It exists on the crux that all humans are inherently evil or problematic and should die to protect the world. Obviously, all humans are not evil, and an extinction of our species is irrational to wish for because human nature is inherently *neutral.* It is predominantly the wealthy who cause damage to the environment and to our ecosystems, as you can see from the influence of a wealthy politician slamming birds.
@@yungxsixbigswagdady6970 Humans are just animals, after all.
Man I hate how humanity goes from respecting the potential of an animal, to blaming them for stuff they are not even related to, like imagine how much could’ve got done if we didn’t give up on using them and showed their abilities respect
People in general have shown we're not even able to respect all other humans. If we can't even do that, I'm not surprised we vilify other animals
Humans don’t like accepting responsibility. Just look at men.
Should probably hate how just ONE public official, and ONE celebrity, are enough to do that.
@@Andyisgodcky and it turned out those two were scumbags so shame on us as a society for paying attention to them in the first place
I found out that the Catholic Church was souly to blame for the black plague that devastating Europe and other countries. They were so suspicious of cats being connected to the devil that they murked them on site. After that, the rats that were carrying the fleas who had the plague went wild.
Pidgeons are honestly the only bird I could keep as a pet without going insane. I also never understood the hate, especially since I grew up in a town with way too many seagulls and those WILL aidrop you and steal your food.
I get what you mean. I've lived in a city with pigeons and seagulls and the seagulls are way more intimidating. Also, while I do like birds and I like watching other people's videos of their pet cockatoos and macaws, I don't think I have it in me to deal with parrots, especially the large ones, 24/7 for like 70 years. Huge respect to those who do! Pigeons seem a bit more calm in comparison, but I haven't seen as many videos about people talking about their pet pigeons so idk for sure.
Same, my grandma had pigeons as indoors pets. They were easy to clean after since some will prefer to have a potty spot, they are very smart and feisty. They could fend off cats and dogs, literally never had any of the cats even attempt to attack it. And one would just walk around the house and eat from their food bowls like the little prick it was. You can let them free fly without a worry (minus hawk danger but ours were lucky) since they always find a way back home. They also form bonds with people (which I was not happy about because that makes the bird hormonal but explain that to my grandma) and they like pets. Excellent pet, made my grandma very happy. I might also add that it was just a wild pigeon, we found a baby on the street and kept it (twice).
Yeah, Pigeons are actually really polite not to poop above a person. Oh sure your parked car or side of the building might not be safe, but they dont bukake the streets like Seagulls do.
As someone who use to have pigeon because they would fall off their nest that in the tree that i use to have they are way better pets than parrots and don't require constant playtime unlike what you need to do with parrots they are chill too and don't become agressive all of the sudden like parrots do
There is no "d" in pigeon. You are thinking of it as if it were a word like "bridge."
Once my boyfriend and I were standing at a quai wall at the riverside, holding hands and looking at the sunset when I noticed a pigeon couple about 20 metres away from us, sitting on the railing. It was not mating season, they were just a couple sitting close to each other, enjoying the view at the riverside, exchanging kisses and snuggles and showing each other true affection.
Just like us.
It had a lasting impact on how I think of them (though I never hated them to begin with).
Pigeons often seem to have partners and even families. Honestly people should be kinder to these birds
That’s adorable 🥹
@@RobotronSageYeah, they mate for life
I mean not even humans are that loyal sometimes, just give them a break 😶
Are u gay?
Also a funfact: Pigeons can pretty much speed run de-evolution.
Look up how many generations it takes for pigeons, if you mix their breeds, to return back to becoming a basic rock pigeon.
TWO.
Well, two to three. But it goes that fast. It takes like a year.
That would be like breeding a Chihuahua with a poodle, that offspring with another random dog and they return to being a wolf again.
I'm laughing at the thought of what kind of wolf a chihuahua, dachshund and pug mix would result in.
@@Yzerbruh If they would work like pigeons, legit just an average grey wolf.
Pigeons are fascinating ❤️
im more concerned on how breeding a poodle and a chihuahua would even work
@@glitchei With great difficulty.
@@glitchei it all depends on who is the pitcher and who is the catcher
Anyone who says pigeons are the rats with wings has never dealt with seagulls.
Like everything in this video people think pigeons are, seagulls _actually_ are.
calling seagulls rats is more of an insults to rats than seagulls
I would love to see where seagulls came from.
@@julien827 True
I dealt with seagulls personally one-on-one. They are very misunderstood. I had a seagull live with me for about a month because he was injured. We used to nap together. He would follow me and would eat from my hands. He was vocal and made these kind of chicken clucking sounds at me and dialate his eyes. After he healed and he left, he would still fly over my place sometimes calling out to me with the same sounds he used to make for me.
Finally someone gets it
Just a reminder: Pigeons are domesticated. Parrots are not. Pigeons are also sweet, gentle, very emotionally sensitive pets, and even if they do attack, their beaks can't break skin like a parrot's can. They're also much, MUCH quieter.
Beginner bird owners should consider a pigeon, not a parrot.
Knowing what I know about rats, "Rats with Wings," is soon to become a term of endearment. Especially if Pigeons get a major PR boost like their ground fairing kin.
Some parrots are
Legit kinda want a pigeon. They just seem a much better bird to own than a parrot.
@XWierdThingsHappenX My dad raised pigeons when I was a kid. They really are amusing birds. My childhood was pretty amazing, raising different birds and fowl. You should get one!
@@sweetsierrablues5095 that sounds so great
In the early 1940s, the british government launched a program (Operation Columba) to gather intelligence from occupied territories by air-dropping pigeons over civilian areas in France and Belgium. This was actually moderately successful, and caused enough of a problem for the germans that they made it illegal to possess pigeons in France. This killed the pigeon-keeping hobby and is a major factor in why there are so many feral pigeons. The book "Secret Pigeon Service" by Gordon Corera provides some very interesting information on the subject and talks about how the british were *this* close to having a full map of the german defenses on the northern french coastline.
Those were the pigeons with cameras, right? I've seen pictures.
Thats not even the only 1940s Pigeon-based military operation. In the early 1940s the US Military piloted a program called "Operation Pigeon" which placed pigeons in the nose cone of aerial bombs in order to guide them, using lenses and a screen, which would project the intended target in such a way that pigeons would peck at the screen. Using pivots and sensors, the birds would peck at the target. If the target drifted offcenter, the offset pecking would pivot the screen, and the sensors sent that data to the control surface, effectively guiding the bomb to the target.
It didnt work. It got picked up by the Navy a few years later and rebranded to "Project Orcan"
It also didnt work, then computers happened. Real good use of the R&D budget 🙃
So that's why my grandfather had to stop catching pigeons to feed himself and his family during WWII...
That is really fascinating!!
I added it to my goodreads list, thank you for the recommendation!
The fact that pigeons are all essentially strays that we abandoned makes me so sad. Like, I consistently will go buy birdseed and peanuts and stuff like that so they have healthier things to nibble on than leftover fries, cigarette butts, and garbage.
More like they are just feral like cats. They can be feral for generations.
@@aceroy9195 A feral cat wouldn't let you walk up to it, pick it up, and walk away. You can absolutely do that to a pigeon in a big city.
The fact that they named the pigeon "my dear friend" made me tear up
same, i love pigeons, i think they’re really cute too
I'm so glad to see this. Pidgeons are crapped on by media left and right, fiction and non, but I never knew where it all started. As shared here, they have such a rich history of companionship and symbiosis with humans. People bred and trained them like dogs, but pigeons don't get to be man's dear friend anymore. Man rejected his dear friend. Hopefully we don't see even more rejection of his best friend.
What's worse is that doves are seen as symbols of purity, goodness, life, and peace... but they're just pigeons with pretty privilege.
“Pigeons with pretty privilege” just sounds dope lol
I agree with the media part. Pokemon did them poor with tranquill
WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE NOT KNOWS HOW TO SPELL "PIGEON"? 😫😫😫😂😂😂😂😂
@@slappy8941 "Pidgeon" is the more ancient of outdated words, while "Pigeon" is the more modern one.
Both are CORRECT.
@@slappy8941oof
Other things to note: They produce crop milk, and males also roost and get broody when they have an egg. They're good fathers and mothers.
what's crop milk?
@@The_Kharski it's a white ish, thick, fatty substance thats produced in a throat flap called a crop. pigeons produce and hork this up to feed their babys. it supposedly looks more like cottage cheese than milk, but between that and the babyfood its called crop "milk".
so yknow brewster in animal crossing is like, heres a complimentary loogie its good for you
The little heart-shaped pillow on their beak is called the 'cere' and it's velvety soft. It actually grows as the bird ages, and looks more like a buildup of coral.
As a kid, we had this brown and white pigeon that hung around our house. We named him Rupert, and he would occasionally just walk inside for a snack or hang out. I can fully attest that they're smarter than people give them credit for.
That's awesome. 😂
Wow, i had one too, he got in our house with an injured wing, we build him a house, after 2 weeks he left, it was also brown and white
We had a wood knocker who kept knocking on one of our windows for hours on end. I think you got the better deal. 😂
I spent some time working at a wildlife rescue and we had one 'failure' wood pigeon who never left the sight after rehabilitation and release.
Anyone who stepped outside was at risk of being the unwitting perch for a very friendly bird demanding cuddles.
Me and my girlfriend are suckers for small affectionate animals so if this happened to us we'd probably adopt a pigeon if one took a liking to us.
This is most wholesome story I read this morning
i remember we were in an public farm (where folks visit and sometimes buy products from) it was autumn so they had a week event like corn maze to tractor riding, to touching rabbits and goats... this time it was a pigeon who followed the father and daughter before the guy gave to me this domesticated pigeon which we dont know the owner of.. (possibly the farmer or some bird keeper nearby) as it was tagged.. i felt happy to caress it, give gentle pets, showed to my cousin.. before a lady along with her 5 friends was interested with the pigeon I picked along with and gently gave it to her as I was living with my family who might get weirded out due to the same scared of being near 'wild/dirty' birds and our home not open of a big place with a bird.. I was asking anybody if anyone knew any owner of the bird to identity the colored tag... i cant help but wonder whether the lady ask out the farmer about the bird or kept it themselves
Sounds delightful.
I hope you named that bird as your official mascot.
Lesser known fact about pigeons, they are incredibly affectionate. I once found a 5 days old one in the street and picked it up to care for it, as soon as it could fly it decided to do the cuddles with me and no barrier could stop it.
as a bird vet, bird owner and birdwatcher... it's so satisfing to see your character development. i wish more people had the balls to simply google pigeons and learn something, like you did. thank you for the video!!
Only this man can perfectly time an ad on my face and not have me grunt
Adblocker/YT Red bro
Failed for me sadly
I have ad block 👁👄👁
ay yooo
get TH-cam Premium you broke boy
Fun fact. Carrier pigeons were used in WW1 to deliver messages into enemy territory. They were so effective that germans trained peregrine falcons to intercept them. Soilders would shoot at them on sight, sometimes taken prisoner if caught. A very short life expectancy but some flew so many missions that they would retire them with medals. They literally played a major part in battle and who knows if they were never used.
Edit: I typed this before I watched the whole vid where the uploader later states all this info.
The crazy part is the effectiveness of a peregrine falcon was 35%!!!! Yes that's alot but considering the falcon should literally dominate. They were still fast enough and agile enough to make maneuvers the falcons couldn't.
@@tiredanddepressed wow I didn't know that. I remember watching this kid movie called Valiant, about the carrier pigeons of the war and there were these nazi falcons that I just assumed were there because they had to have animal bad guys, and falcons were a natural predator. The more you know!
@@tiredanddepressed The falcon is built for them, but the pigeon has one defense move where it dive bombs right before its snatched. It's a one shot maneuver, obviously. There was one pidgeon that flew so many missions, they had to retire her to let her live out her life. She came back ruffled up and scratched up, but always came back. Amazing birds.
There's an animated movie about carrier pigeons named Valiant, don't know how well it's aged since last I watched it but I remember it being a pretty solid movie.
Incorrect. Falcon does the dive bomb in the pigeons blind spots. The pigeons dodges it, using its overpowered breast muscles and manouvrebility.
Now I see why Nikola Tesla (yes, THE inventor Tesla) basically considered pigeons to be his best friends. The man purportedly even built a special apparatus just to allow one pigeon he found to heal its broken leg and wing, along with having made a point to feed pigeons in the areas where he lived.
Yet another way in which Tesla was ahead of his time: recognizing that pigeons are actually pretty cool, smart birbs and not unhygienic menaces.
Thankfully Tesla died before pigeons' reputation tanked like this, so he didn't have to witness it himself. I'm sure it would have broken his heart if he had to see that.
This makes sense now. I thought the implication was that he was going crazy in the end. But he was really just a bit lonely and adopted some dogs. I mean, they use a litter box? What a great video.
But Tesla was clinically insane, so there's that.
@katier9725 If he was alive when they started claiming pigeons are rats with wings, he could have swayed public opinion to think otherwise.
@@youngdresbaby not ikely, he was by and large looked at as a nutter.
Seriously, who was the absolute BRAINLET of a rich person to go _"Y'know what a pigeon needs? Swollen pepperoni eyelids and a broken beak! Let's make an entire breed to look like that!"_
Probably the same brainlet behind the Pug
Dog breeder syndrome
@@dirtydan9785it's crazy.
Another fun fact: Mike Tyson also loved pidgeon since he was 9 years old, he claimed that they were an escape from the bullying he endured as a child. He still loves them to this day, and his pidgeon coupe is quite luxurious, in fact he only gives them Fiji water to drink.
That explains the pigeon character in his animated series.
@@aeden8008I was going to say this exact thing. It has always seemed like a random choice to me, but I never investigated it.
wow hes even cooler now
All facts. I was just about to say the same thing, but I found this comment already exists. 🎯🤔🦾
Not gonna lie, I have gained a lot of respect for Mike over over the last few years. Mostly due to his sense of humor. The man literally sold candies in the shape of an ear, I cannot help but respect that lol.
I have a ''pet pigeon'', I rescued her when she was a little chick that fell from the nest in the middle of the city. When she had grow enough I set her free, but she never wanted to leave! She's pure love, she loves napping on my lap and asking for attention, and yes, she surprises me every day with how intelligent she actually is. She also loves my mother and she is capable of identifying her voice through the phone, she always comes flying from the other side of the house when she hears her!! They're incredible 🥰
Me and my gf have one and she is the sweetest flying thing in the world
He pecks my partner when she doesnt give him scritches, but i cant blame her.
Thank you for rescuing the baby, last year I found a hatchling whose parents had apparently chosen an unfortunate spot for a nest. Unsure if the baby had just started hatching or was about to but wound up on the ground still mostly in its shell, no longer alive. My heart still hurts for the poor thing but it’s always soothing to hear not all of these stories end that way
What’s her name? She sounds like such a loving pet
@@bluesteno64 her name is Marie Curie, we call her Marie or Curicuri 🤭💖
damn you must be doing well in life
I'll never understand why people hate pigeons so much. They're one of the most amazing and important birds in history, not to mention that they're one of the best pet birds out there
Why do people hate sharks? All mouth to mouth propaganda and people not caring about actuall information :/.
Now seagulls on the other hand...
I didn’t even know people disliked pigeons. They’re nice, sound nice, and they look nice. They’re no different than any species which lives close to humans. They only become dirty when the human settlement becomes dirty first.
I love pigeons. I’ve got a couple pigeon tattoos
I dont hate pigeons but i hate where they dump their s***
I remember when I was little I used to love birds. When I moved to Texas, I caught notice of a species known as the "White-Winged Dove" and I always loved looking at some from a distance. One day at a park, I noticed one with a bullet wound and told my parents if we could take it to the vet. I held it in my arms, and it was so sweet to me. It knew I wasn't danger the moment I wasn't attacking it. Unfortunately, it passed away recovering from the wound, but that moment always wanted me to get a pet pigeon or dove. I never knew why these birds get bad rep...
a dove is a pigeon, 'dove' is just another name for a pigeon
@@bendingdemon6483pigeon with pretty privilege
A bit more context with Cher Ami. The battalion wasn't just getting attacked by the enemies, they were also getting attacked by their allies as well. So they were sandwiched between 2 lines of fire, and it took 3 pigeons, Cher Ami being the third pigeon, that was sent out for the battalion to get rescued
In 2017, I was on a military training exercise in the Mojave desert. It was night, and I was on day 4 without any sleep, barely functioning, and sitting in my Humvee with the door open and eating an MRE. I was out of it, to say the least.
So this dog comes over, looks at me kinda confused and startled, and I just instinctively held out a piece of food for him and he comes over and takes it- and I just idly scratched his head and told him 'good boy'.
He walked away, and that's when I realized something.
I'm in the Mojave desert, the middle of nowhere, on a military exercise at night.
No one has dogs here.
I suddenly realized "I just gave a coyote some of my food and pet him like a dog, and that just happened" and did a double take on the animal that walked about 20 yards away- yep, coyote.
The thing is, the coyote also realized this at the same time and did a double-take on me.
I think we were both kind of embarrassed.
"what just happened?"
"what just happened?"
@@magentaplatinum1430 there was a silent agreement between us to not speak of this
I guess I violated it.
Sorry Coyote Bro, but I think we were both in the same headspace
He forgot he was a coyote for a moment, and turned into a dog.
And that was the exact moment he became a good boy.
What can you tell about patrolling Mojave desert? Did you wish for a nuclear winter?
The worst thing that humans did to any pigeon was the tragedy of the passenger pigeon. They went from billions to extinct in less than a century due to overhunting and destruction of nesting and habitat. The flocks were so big that there was a report from like 1855 Columbus Ohio of a flock flying over the city. They blotted out the sun and took two hours to pass over completely. People were running and screaming and hiding to get out of the streets and once the flock was gone the town was basically painted white. Famous conservationist Aldo Leopold once called them "feathered tempests" which is cool as hell.
That passenger pigeon flock story is the funniest thing I’ve read this week
Only in Ohio
I think, I want to also mention, that another reason they went extinct, is that I think I read somewhere, is that these swarms of them were the only way the could breed. Like, they didn't have good conception rates, and these swarms helped them with that. I'd assume once a swarm started to die down, they too would.
@@AuraAi We learned in evolutionary bio about that. It was an excellent strategy until firearms became common and the increase of humans during the industrial revolution. Most animals would not be able to consume a whole flock, but a group of people with shotguns could cause terrible damage.
@@darthsilversith667unfunny
Humans disowning pigeons always made me sad growing up. Last year some mourning doves made a nest in one of my plants and it was so wonderful just to watch them from my window. 💜
I instantly teared up the literal second I saw the picture of Cher Ami. I didn't realize I would recognize a picture of a pigeon, but I recognized him immediately. One day, I hope to go to the Smithsonian, and I'm gonna cry just being near him.
He gave it all for us.
hw survived you know@@Topdoggie7
One of the main reasons why rats are commonly blamed for the plague is because while they did carry the plague, it was caused by the fleas on the rats instead of the rats themselves
I think there's a theory that people were what was carrying the plague from city to city. Reason being is that rats can't travel fast enough to account for how fast it spread.
@@Duamerthrax Could be that it originally came from the fleas on the rats, and then once a couple people were infected they continued to spread it
@@Duamerthrax This theory does track a bit, but rats traveled via ships (People had ships back then) Which made it to major coastal cities much faster. People going horse from the origin is going to have a much slower spread and their gonna die fairly quickly in their journey, ultimately it seems like it it was the fleas on the rats that spread. It started with the fleas, and ended up with human transmission, but not just human transmission.
@@fenixleonor Well it didn't help things, but the plague was already rampant by the time they started doing churchy shit like killing cats.
@@jolenetheredhead9761 they started killing cats around 13 century check that please😺
Finally, someone is talking about this. It always makes me sad how we just threw pigeons away. They deserve better.
Yall
Its called rewilding. Not every animal needs human captivity.
@@krishadyn5211Incorrect. The indomitable human race shall conquer all animals and we will pet every single one.
@@krishadyn5211dude it isn’t captivity. It’s like if we all decided we hated golden retrievers and threw them out, let their coats get matted and nails overgrown, and then made fun of them for it. Would you call it “captivity” then? Knowing they rely on us?
@@krishadyn5211"Rewilding" yeah totally, we "rewilded" them to a place not even remotely like their orginal home and they still stick around us for their survival
totally "rewilding"
my friend had a pigeon named Fareed that he trained without prior knowledge to come to him and only him if he snapped his fingers , my pet cat also tried so hard to get him but could not even touch him , pigeons here in Egypt are precious pets and lovable creatures ( and meals ) .
R.I.P Fareed 💔
Cher Ami's story is actually a bit better than what he says.
Cher Ami wasn't released just because they had no food/water/ammo, but also because the soldiers were trapped in a zone being shelled by US artillery batteries. His ears were getting violated and organs getting vibrated by bombardment and even with multiple gunshot wounds delivered the message that stopped the bombardment and got them rescued.
For you Sabaton fans out there Cher Ami had saved The Lost Battallion.
My grandpa raised Birmingham Rollers since he was a child. He helped me build my own coop and gave me some breeding pairs. I kept a full genealogy and cared for those birds every day. My grandpa died a couple years later and I remember going out to the coop and crying for hours. I was so glad that I had that time with him and my pigeons to remember him by.
Those are so cool!
What became of the birds he had when he died?
@@audreymuzingo933 by the time he had died he was living in an apartment and had already given me and a friend his birds.
@@ozzypawsborneprinceofbarkness Thank you. And sorry if I was nosy, I just couldnt' imagine a whole flock of birds not having anyone to care for them after he did so well for them.
Don't forget 'pigeon' also used to be an affectionate nickname to call someone, typically a girl or woman, like the Tramp called Lady. Basically it meant 'sweet little thing' because people used to regard pigeons that way.
I always wondered why he always called her that whenever I watched Lady and the Tramp.
@@beastmaster0934 My guess is that calling a girl "pigeon" was from Beatnik culture. Note how Lady's humans call each other "Jim Dear," and "Darling." -Dear and darling were older, more 'establishment' affectionate nicknames, whereas young Beatniks were bringing all kinds of new slang to American dialogue. Considering the movie came out in 1955 and the Tramp was a freewheeling rebel type, I suspect his lingo was meant to emulate Beat talk.
In france a "pigeon" is a gullible person, easily tricked and manipulated
The nicer version of it is still understood as that. Dove can be used as an old-fashioned way of calling someone "sweet little thing"
they’re also a sign of peace
Pigeons- **survived bullets**
Also pigeon- **Gets folded by a blind fish**
They taught pigeons to read
They taught pigeons to read
*They taught pigeons to read*
THEY TAUGHT PIGEONS TO READ!!
We can read too dude
Wow Pigeons can read?
@@Amaend8 oh wow so special
@@cottoncandyluvr you can read too😑
There’s a quote by primatologist Frans de Waal that I will never forget: “The possibility that empathy resides in parts of the brain so ancient that we share them with rats should give pause to anyone comparing politicians with those poor, underestimated creatures.”
Being compared to a rat is a compliment. Like pigeons they are smart, clean and genuinely interesting creatures we could do much to learn from.
So.... We are calling politicians "flightless seagulls" from now on?
@@tiagobelo4965 yes.
No truer statement
@@tiagobelo4965or we could call them 'homo sapians' that sounds about right! (Sorry I can't spell)
And this is why I’m Vegan. Because animals have sentience, emotions, attachments, can feel pain, fear, terror, betrayal, hopelessness.
Anyone who claims to be an animal lover but consumes animals and animal products is a hypocrite. Think about not WHAT you’re eating, but WHO you’re eating.
Learning about how smart and vengeful crows and ravens can be I've grown a certain amount of respect for them not to mess around
You should be.
We had a crow nest near our house and whenever they got scared of us. They would pluck our plants out from the soil.
They're way smart than we assume
They are extremely intelligent and you can teach them too talk. They also have a great memory.
Jewelry store around here has a vending machine for crows... they drop a coin or "ring mostly" inside and it spits out food (anything heavy and shiny is what they grab).@@jibranbhat8711
I used to have a genuine crow plague in the park near my old house. _(entirely my fault, but i love crows so i didn't mind as much as everyone else did)_
We at some point started feeding the crows there, and when more arrived, we fed more. _This went on for about 5 years._
By the time we decided we should stop, there were probably about a couple hundred (if not more) crows gathered in the park, waiting every time for when we would dump local bakery's left over bread by the metaphorical truckload. Our street neighboring the park ended up calling it 'Crow's Nest' (Dutch: het Kraaiennest).
About 4 years ago i moved. I stopped feeding them 6-7 years ago, but they never stopped coming, and made our park their local hang-out.
I still occasionally fed some in my garden at my old home, but never again the wheelbarrow full of treats i'd bring them weekly, and the amount of crows in my garden was usually limited to only 20 to 30.
Now, i didn't move that far, only some 45 kilometers down the road, but one thing i didn't expect is for the crows to follow me to my new home.
I had one tapping on my window about 2 weeks after i moved in. I can't confirm they're the same crows, but everywhere i go both crows and to some small degree jackdaws just kind of sit there, waiting for the master of treats to bestow upon them the deliciousness they've come to expect.
They camp in my garden, patiently waiting for me to hand them their weekly meal. And whenever i'm in public, especially on my lunch walk to the supermarket, crows actively follow me, and fly overhead.
The reason why i believe they followed me is because usually you only really see a fuckton of Jackdaws in the Netherlands, but now my town has been practically overrun by crows, and the jackdaws have almost become a rare sight.
I have become the Crowfather. Bringer of blessings to generations of crows.
And i will carry on my duty for the rest of my life, however many crow-centuries that might be.
They have blessed me with their trust, and so i shall in turn reward their trust with food.
TL;DR: I fed crows and now my weekly blessings of food have been ingrained in local crow culture, and i have an army of crows follow me around. 👍
Crows are smart. Respect the crows. _They probably know where you live. Like, literally._
Pigeons i hate, but blackbirds i have come to have huge respect and appreciation for.
crows can be as smart as some kids. ain't surprising that pigeons got that cranial chill too.
Ok I will never disrespect a pidgeon again. I'm tearing up over how brave and loyal that bird was. He saved so many lives, good on him.
My grandfather used to breed carrier pigeons as he was a war vet that handled them during his service.
So I understand the fear as I was too.
But I do admire and respect them as well.
My Grandfather did breed them too, but for food. Very tasty and I was too young to know it was unusual.
@@Kaefer1973 strange but cool fr
@@Kaefer1973What do they taste like?
@@IntrovertedPotato As far as birds go their unique taste can be closer compared to ducks than anything else I've ever eaten (which aside them is just the big four, chicken, turkey duck and goose). But that taste is a lot lighter and doesn't dominate as much, so about an inbetween of chicken and duck.
As someone who works in a bird rescue I understand why Steve was afraid of large parrots. They can be pretty unpredictable and dangerous if you don't learn and respect their communication.
This. I have a rescued Pacific parrotlet. She weighs 31 grams (close to one ounce) and while I love her more than anything, she was returned to the shelter multiple times for her aggression. I'm very cautious around the large parrots, because the damage they can deal with those beaks is no joke.
My snake on the other hand? He doesn't get jealous, fly at people, and bite their necks.
Parrots are really scary! Growing up, one of my friends had a pet store, and I got to hold all manner of crazy pets from boa constrictors to tarantulas, bearded dragons to ferrets. All the animals I handled, only the parrot caused injury- it took a big chunk out of my hand with its beak.
No doubt. They can be tempermental and can hurt you with their powerful bite.
If you train it right, they're amazing. The problem is that most people aren't dedicated trainers with enough time or knowledge on their own to do it.
Then there are some parrots who are utterly insane and terrifying- these are Amazons, cockatoos, and scarlet macaws.
I would own a blue and gold or a green wing or a hybrid macaw, and I would own basically any other parrot. Budgie, cockatiel, conure, eclectus, african gray, galah, ringneck, alexandrine, pionus, Senegal, etc. I would own any of those. And many other species.
If a hyacinth macaw was dropped into my lap, even for a price that is not $18,000+, I might get one.
Honestly my favourite parrots are blue and gold macaws, camelot macaws, catalina macaws, ruby macaws, and blue throat macaws.
Oddly, my next favourite parrots are... Budgies. Yup, budgies! I love them!!
Yup. And once you know how surprisingly painful the bite of a tiny budgie/parakeet beak can be already, you just shudder to think about the level of injury an African Grey or Macaw can give you. This beak shape means business.
Thank you so much for this! I have had three generations of pigeons grow in my balcony and I have seen first hand how smart and lovable they can be. They were also very sweet and trusting once they realized that we meant them no harm and were actually providing them with food.
The most beautiful part is how the pair treats each other with so much love and care- unfortunately for this particular pair, the female died leaving the male pigeon all alone.
And he stayed alone for a long time and grew older and older until one day I saw him with another female pigeon and he finally looked happy.
However he was already old and after a few months I found the female pigeon sitting by herself at their usual spot, calling for him. He never came back again.
The female bird was driven out by a new pair after while and I never saw her again either.
He was so sweet and I cried when it suddenly hit me that he would never come back to his spot.
I was kid when I first saw them so he was kind of an unofficial pet and I was very attached.
Sorry for the rant- but it was cathartic and I finally found a place to let it out lol.
Thank you and love the content as alwayss!
Ty for sharing
you got to experience something special and after i read your comment it did made me look at pigeons in a new way TY!
@@hellscorpio82 Aww love it!
@@tinyhouseranch ☺
Better love story than twilight
I didn't know HALF this stuff about pigeons!! Daaamn. I also really like how much research and stuff you do. AH THE ENDING CLIPS, they're so cuuute
As someone with a pet pigeon, I’m so glad you made this! They make phenomenal pets, and they really have the worst wrongful reputation!
More like phenomenal alarm clock
But dont they poop everywhere in the house? Or can you train them to poop in the toilet sand like a cat?
@@chouleo They can, but it's super easy to follow them around and wipe it away when they poop. Or you can buy special diapers for them to wear that catch the poop. They're really cute; look like little overalls.
Damn. I just blanket assumed that they'd be the obligate outdoors kind of pets.
I absolutely adore pigeons, especially after hearing how they're actually incredibly intelligent and how they're a rare case of a species of bird not being a jerk whenever they're given the chance, so the positive press here is so appreciated.
Also I'm terrified of turkeys (it's a long story) so I totally get where you're coming from.
You're wrong.
They're the only birds in my garden which don't mob attack other birds at the feeding table. Crows, magpies, starlings and robins are bullies but pigeons are so chilled.
@@spamlives77 Holy crap, what an argument!
This guy wins. Who could possibly compete with a statement like that?
@@MartinFinnerup don't worry bro i got this
@@spamlives77 they're right
Mike Tyson has had pigeons for pets since he was a kid. As a matter of fact, the first fight he ever got in was over a pigeon. One of the kids in the neighborhood saw him carrying it around, and asked to see it. Young Mike Tyson showed him the pigeon, and the kid ripped its head off.
He still keeps them as pets to this day.
Pigeons possibly being directly responsible for one of the most iconic boxers and athletes ever might be my favorite random fact lol
Jesus christ... what sort of kid fucking *does* that...
@@mndiaye_97 He races em too apparently.
That kid had it coming to him. Don’t kill animals for fun.
That’s actually a pretty cool origin story.
We also attempted to use them as a guidance systems for bombs in the aptly named "Project Pigeon", they were basically the precursor to GPS guidance, but got shelved once electronic systems proved more reliable and cost effective. We also attempted to use bats in a very similar manner, which is also a very interesting read.
You forgot one really cool thing that only pigeons can do. Normally birds have to drink by taking some water into their beak and then raise their head up so that the water flows down their gullet. But pigeons have small hole at the tip of their beak that allows them to use their beak like a straw. No other bird can do that.
Thats so cool
So, I volunteer for a wildlife rescue, and pigeons are the most common animals we get. Every time we get one, I am amazed with how much personality they can have (once they get well enough to start showing it). We've had sassy pigeons, sweet pigeons, chill pigeons, pigeons with the personality of a neurotic chihuahua.... and I struggle not to treat them like a pet, even with the ones that try to chop or bite you without hesitation.
Speaking of, pigeons do have ways of defending themselves! The main one, and the most surprising, is wing chopping. The bird basically tries to punch you with the wrist of their wing as hard as they can, and it's startling the first couple times it happens. The amount of times I've seen a new Volunteer pull their hand back like they got shocked by the bird.... It's genuinely hilarious. They also bite, and while it feels like a pinch to us, it can fuck up another bird. We actually had to remove a bird from a prerelease enclosure cause the other pigeons decided they didn't like that individual, and tried to kill it.
Also, they make for pretty decent pet alternatives to parrots, and can be trained to be ESA's.
That’s actually really interesting, thank you for the extra insight! My perception of them has really flipped the last few years
I think this is my favorite video from you so far, I love seeing people give recognition and appreciation to animals that we all too often see as "pests"
They tend to congregate near human spaces where people will eat. When they do, they roost in human built- environment structures. When they do, they crap all night onto the ground below and because their diet is off-piste their scats are often loose and do not stand scrutiny. The result is an unsightly mess that curbs the appetite in an area where food is eaten, sold and eaten, served and eaten... you get the picture?
@santyclause8034 I have a medium-sized flock of turkey vultures that live in the big trees in my backyard ( if you don't know goodle them bc they're cool too, except their leavings look like some haphazardly splattered white paint buckets everywhere) lol so I do have some idea, idk like he said, we did pigeons wrong
@@santyclause8034 Simple solution to that is to clean around your restaurant like any other business would clean up to ensure their property is clean and presentable. People in residential properties maintain the outdoor portion of their property so why would it be any different for a business property? You own it, you take care of it.
@@TheBlkKat Yeah you do lol, its pretty common sense to clean it fk knows what this other dudes chatting lol.
I've been with this young man from the beginning, and seeing how much the videos have evolved has been fascinating enough, but also seeing how our host has grown more comfortable and open, and become more personable within the presentation... It's been a very interesting, entertaining, and incredibly informative journey. I think this guy should be teaching kids about animals, because taking this more casual approach keeps it from feeling like LEARNING (in the strictured, academically oppressive sense).
Love this channel and all the videos, thank you for all you do!
Also, does anyone know his name? The host, I mean.... I feel weird calling him CASUAL GEOGRAPHIC, cause that's certainly not meant to be his personal handle.... That's just the name of the corporation.
@@TheHive616 Mamadou
I find it funny that they are called "rats with wing." Because rat are smart as hell. They can learn tricks and be potty trained. They are also really clean and social creatures to. So, ya, it is a huge compliment to be called "rats with wings."
Pigeons are smart as well. They can find there way home over 300 miles.
Just goes to show how ignorant we are about pigeons _and_ rats.
@@madtabby66don't they have a build in compass thought the reason why they can do that is because they can sense the magnetic field in the earth
Pigeons, rats, crows, coyotes - all victims of their own intelligence. They are smart enough to benefit from human activity instead of being displaced by it, and as a result, we see them as pests.
"Because rat are smart as hell. They can learn tricks and be potty trained. They are also really clean and social creatures to." Same goes for rats. So I guess the description is fitting. It's just that neither animal deserves the negativity associated with it.
Edit: Just noticed that that's basically what you wrote. I blame it on being tired.
Thank you so much for recognizing them and giving them credit. Humanity really let them down, used and abandoned. They are amazing beings. Absolutely adorable too.
For some reason I misread every single "them" and "they" as "us" and "we". My brain assigned you pigeon.
hell we were the reason why there so damn many of them. >.>
Humanity has let down a lot of animals
The eating pigeon story reminds me of one of the first times I went to the homeland (Colombia) and was walking around with my mom and saw a store with chickens in cages. I asked my mom excitedly “you can have a chicken as a pet?!” And she said “those aren’t pets.”
I cried the rest of the day.
so, youre vegan now?
@@mato4334 nope, just shook me up for a few months. Same thing happened after I dissected a pig in school; I couldn’t eat pork for about a year. I’m fine now 😅.
@@carolinamurtha3102 Good news, though, you can totally have a chicken as a pet, provided you have a yard to keep them in. Do your research, obviously, but they're pretty easy to care for. They're also loyal, useful, and just damn cute!
I'd recommend to get the chicks' sexes confirmed, because a lot of places won't allow roosters, especially suburbs, because they're LOUD.
@@woomy2343 I’m actually more of a rodent type person (rabbits, rats, mice, etc), but thank you for the tips 😄. That’s interesting that you can keep hens but not roosters because I live in a suburban type neighborhood and a neighbor in my complex totally has a rooster. We know this because it caws at dawn. Not all the time, we’ve never seen the rooster, but it’s so freaking odd.
@@carolinamurtha3102 Oh, then it's probably fine for you to keep roosters then where you live. I would personally look into the laws and policies in your neighborhood just to be sure.
Also, not to be "that gal", but rabbits aren't rodents, they're lagomorphs.
Thanks for recognizing these chubby little gems!
I love these chonky little guys; they’re so gentle and sweet. ❤Breaks my heart to see the amount of injuries they sustain from city filth - namely debris and human hair tightened around their toes. They deserve better than their current reputation. 😢
I saw a pigeon with half a beak and one leg in NYC once....... One of the many reasons I'm never ever moving to the city.
it breaks my heart too and i've tried to teach people
I’m not sure if they still do, but when I was visiting the city in high school (22 years ago…), Montreal had communal “nests” for pigeons filled with lots of food, but the food was laced with birth control. This kept the pigeon population controlled without having to resort to setting up traps. I thought it was a rather elegant solution.
Yes. There are organizations setting up lofts all over to help them. I'm a pigeon rescuer, and we swap their eggs out every month for feggs (fake eggs) they sit on them for about 18 days, and then we remove them. Too many need homes already, so population control is important.
I have my Grandma to thank for loving a lot of animals that would be considered 'pests.' We live alongside a very busy road, in what used to be the middle of nowhere. Animals would get hit often, and my Grandma had a habit of taking them in and rehabilitating them when no one else would. One of my all time favorites was a mourning dove. She was so sweet, even when we were kids, and had endless patience with us coming in to oggle and pet her. She'd been poisoned by people, and then hit by a car. We eventually managed to rehabilitate her after almost 2 years! We let her go, and she'd come back every year, eventually with her mate. They'd come in the yard, hang around the house, eat the bird seed we left out. She did this for nearly a decade, until eventually her partner stopped coming, and then, two years later, so did she.
Pidgeons, doves, and many other birds for that matter are absolute treasures, and should be treated as such!
Aww your Granny sounds like an absolute treasure🥹🩷love kind hearted people like her
That's so sweet 🥹
Those birds are flying free thanks to your grandma
''Pidgeons, doves, and many other birds for that matter are absolute treasures, and should be treated as such!''
fr
12:36 bro when i was a kid i found a baby pigeon who somehow survived after falling from those hole things at the top of apartment buildings and bro was so cute and FAST AS HELL
Don't forget the 'Passenger Pigeon'. At one time they were the most numerous bird in the world, numbering 3 billion. Then humanity decided to hunt them to extinction, yes EXTINCTION! Christ, the pigeon certainly has had a raw deal.
bird: exists
usa: NO *casually makes them go extinct*
So if you see one today, know that you have most likely fallen into a rip in the fabric of time.
@@theoneandonlyartyomapparently the usa is all of humanity now?
@@anidiot4992 no, but the bird only lived in north america, specifically eastern usa and southern canada
Passenger pigeons were incredibly stupid and terrible at adaptation. If humanity tried to bring back some extinct animals, they should be bottom of the list.
Here in Turkey some historical mosques have stone nests for pigeons. Like they built miniature stone houses for them. Also they can learn tricks and stuff. They are really great pets too. My neighbor has 10 pigeons and he flies them regularly. Also I never saw a super dirty pigeon in my life. I think they are the second most popular avian pet in Turkey (first is the budgie, we are obssessed with budgies)
Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I've always found pigeons cute. Much like rats, they also have been observed to clean themselves a lot and enjoy baths. Their ability to find the way home despite being in the dark and put in random places in tests is actually insane.
i think they're cute to, definitely one of my favorite animals
they make lots of cute lil noises, a lot like cats. the cooing when you pet them really gets me lol
no cuz they're absolutely adorable how do people hate them 🙁
@@nckojita I love watching videos of them acting like feathered cats and being cute lil goobers.
Also i love how you made a video for pigeons, even when you don't feel comfortable around pigeons.
As the Pigeon God, I'm glad you're finally giving pigeons the recognition they deserve
i love you pigeongod3450
Praise be
All hail the pigeon god!
Praise be to our new overlords the pigeons, may they bless use with their coo’s….. I mean. They cute.
coo
We give most animals that aren’t cute the middle finger
Including humans
okay, okay, but ever seen pigeons when they are all fluffed up or pudgy? THEY ARE, ADORABLE.
On the serious note, poor pigeons, they don't deserve this.
I love peigons I would often chase them to catch them
It never worked
The same with people lol
Sad part even being cute doesn’t help
Coming from someone whose dad bred, reared & raced pigeons, I'm glad someone else recognises how lovely these birds are!
🕊
The way I see it, if Mike Tyson likes pigeons you know they’re cool.
Im sorry, you can RACE pigeons???
@@snowyfox_01yes its a form of gambling
Yepp that is a thing - you leave them on their own in foreign territory and wait how many return. It is actually pet cruelty and the losers add to the countless homeless pidgeons on the streets. Our flock multiplies by such "losers", we do not breed as there are enough pidgeons in this world, we adopt the ones breeders and racers abandon.
@@ruzi.the.spider Unfortunately there are such bad fanciers out there that don't properly care for their birds, it's a shame
10:27 They also taught pigeons to identify enemy ships and were intended to be used in missiles as a guidance system. No joke they were gonna use pigeons for guided missiles
Every time I go to the state fair where I am, I am shocked at the horrifying abominations pidgeon breeders have created. I don't think any other animal has been this gruesomely twisted by us--not even dogs.
Goldfish
Also came here to say goldfish, and in very similar ways
Have you heard of Bubble Eye Goldfish.
I'm not so sure. The pit bull family as a whole is a genetic mess, not only mentally, but physically. Higher frequency of allergies, mouth breathers because their block skulls limit how much they can get through their nostrils. Then you have the weirder ones, like the dachshund that literally looks like someone stitched a pit bulls head on it, or the pocket/toad bullies, that can barely walk, have short lifespans and literally cannot mate or give birth most of the time without human intervention. The whole idea behind pocket/toy breeds in general is crazy. Shrink a breed until it has countless physical and mental issues from having to stuff everything in a tiny "cute" package.
To be honest I will never understand the appeal some people have for breeding inbred mutants and making a fortune off them. But the relationship between wealth and inbreeding sure helps explain the Habsburgs
Hamsters apparently have their eyes fall out too, dunno for sure if that’s our fault but I’m gonna guess so.
I wasn't aware pigeons had such a bad reputation in the US. And every time I've heard the term "rats with wings" it's usually in reference to bats (bc they look similar) or seagulls. It's a shame it's now considered weird to have pigeons as pets
I always thought it referred to seagulls.
For some reason its normal to keep them in a coop thing, but weird to have just a single bird!
@@kziila0244Same here.
They definitely have the same reputation in Germany. If anything, people here like rats more than pigeons. Or hate them less.
That reminds me, bats in Swedish are called "fladdermöss" which translates to "flutter mice". So it would make sense in a way that they're the "rats with wings". But I don't see rats as a negative, they're cute and intelligent.
3:01 "And this is where I stopped hating and started learning."
Words to live by.
💯🕊
So happy to see channel grow this much!! always makes my day a little happier when I get to stop by and get a couple minutes of neat animal facts
As a bird lover I am fucking devastated, honestly
Much like the asteroid that wiped out the Dino’s
same
Same here 😂😢
I too am devasted by this news as an avian archosaur appreciator.
I read a study where pigeons could look at a circuit diagram and prefer the ones that worked, from the ones that didn't. 🤯
I had a pet pigeon I raised from an egg, named Pidgey. He was legit one of the best birds I ever had, and I own parrots! Whenever I was sick and bed ridden, he would lay beside me in bed and just coo anytime he saw me wake up. He always wanted cuddles an to hang with the family, also dude was potty trained. I am so glad to see you face your fears and learn about these smart lil guys, thank you for sharing this wonderful video! They are amazing creatures and deserve far more love than majority of the world will ever give them.
Pidgey, that's so cute.
That name is so good😆
omg!!!! pokémon refference
If you ever get 2 pigeons name one pidgeotto and the other pidgeot to complete the Pokémon reference
The fact that someone named their homing pigeon "Dear Friend" is the cutest thing
I absolutely love pidgeons, they are amazing. Sometimes I take the train into a city over that is busteling with pidgeons just to watch and feed them. I love their walk, how they bob their head, how fast they go.
This week I saw an almost completely white but spotted pidgeon lady and her man in a fountain taking a bath
I'll be damned if I let Woody Allen influence me so pure spite already has me looking at pigeons in a new light. I've appreciated carrier pigeons since Hey Arnold and hearing about them saving lives during wartime always makes me happy. I learned more about pigeons in this 15 minute video than I ever did during my school years and it's much appreciated. Welcome back, man.
They once conducted studies to find out how exactly pigeons find their way back home, but the studies only gave more questions. At the final test they made a pigeon blind and deaf (with a blindfold and stuff) and set it out somewhere in France, it still made its way back to its home in the Netherlands, almost even in record time. In the Netherlands flying pigeons is a sport. Many people will bring their pigeons to a place far a way, often in france, belgium or Germany and then see which ones make it home first. They found out that for the last 10 kilometers the birds followed the roads home, instead of going in a straight line they would precisely follow the roads on the ground. These animals are so fascinating
Yes, and then people like me have to rescue 100s of them due to this cruel "sport" of pigeon racing and ceremonial releases. They always say they always make it home. No, they don't. That's why we rescue and rescue and rescue... selfish humans.
@@kellystinydreamsbus yeah it certainly is a cruel sport, however, it's not always racing pigeons y'all are saving. My uncle has had 2 pretty big flocks of racing pigeons for over 30 years (obviously new birds every now and then) but he's never had a bird not come back. When not racing they also get free flying time every day, I definitely prefer that way of keeping above the way most show birds are kept. I have contacts in multiple bird rescues around where I live and all of them certainly have pigeons often but they aren't the majority of what they get at all, and most pigeons they get aren't racing pigeons either, as those have to be in top conditions to fly those distances so they aren't as susceptible to many of the dangers outside the others are.
Really glad to see you giving pigeons some respect. They're such cool birds
pigeons are dumb as fuck
@@BhadzYTlike your entire family generation bloodline
@@DavidBonDavidalmost my entire family bloodline is either a famous doctor or a millionaire, which you unfortunately can't relate to, if you want proof I will be happy to send it 😊
Pidgeon's are robot spies for the Russian and Chinese government.
@@BhadzYTUpload the proof to your channel.
Pigeons are awesome birds. Their navigation skills, their memory, everything. I really want to own one someday, if I can. They're sweeties.
4:00 yes she's half right. Urban pigeons have difficulty caring for themselves and nesting, but not so much trouble that they die off. However outside of cities they do just fine. The problem here is that pigeons are attracted to cities because the buildings resemble the cliffs and outcrops of their native ecosystem, but it has none of the resources they need. So they survive on trash and build nests out of the only three sticks they can find. So that girl is kinda right but mostly wrong. Its not totally because we domesticated them, its because we built an artificial environment that traps them voluntarily through their instincts.
Lastly, its not so much that they are smart, they have a highly developed pattern recognition system. That has benefits for navigation at a distance for things like recognizing their roost, food sources, each other and making positive associations.
I adopted an injured pigeon as a kid and he was a first class bird pet - he knew his name, would come to folks when called and even learned tricks, the favorite being when he learned how to bring my dad a single cigarette from a pack along with the lighter - never managed to teach him how to light the cigarette though.
honestly that was probably more of a case of lacking the dexterity to do so too if anything, i whole heartedly believe if a pigeon had thumbs they could 100% learn to use a lighter. bet you could teach em matches tho
Lovely video. I once rescued an injured pigeon and cared for her whilst waiting for a space to come available in a rescue. She was named Littlelady and became tame very fast as I spent hours each day tending to her (in the bathroom away from our cat).
At the rescue, they remarked on her gentle nature. Sadly, she had internal injuries which eventually claimed her life after a few weeks. She wont be forgotten. ❤
0:21 love this clip, despite being charged by a hippo the zookeeper kept his cig in his mouth the entire time and escaped unharmed
I’ve always liked pigeons for just their randomness but learning all of this made me like and respect them more and I’m here for it.
I rescued a roller pigeon a few months ago. He is the most amazing guy. I cannot fathom why he was bred to do backflips in mid air but he is a house pet now! Much better than a parrot or finches.
Having had all three(at the same time) I couldn't agree more, parrots will often make you regret you never got them and finches just seem to not thrive in a house setting, an every is what those tiny buggers need
They are lovely guys. Can't fault them
How do you keep pigeons? Can you let them loose in the house, or do they need a big Birdhouse?
@@mlem6951 I accidentally bought the perfect cage for him. It's a yaheetech 30x18x18. It has small doors so I can catch him and treat him for mites and lice. He must have had passengers. The one huge middle door fold down so I added wire supports so it stopped level when open as a landing pad. I have 3 cats so his room is a time share. He flies around in the morning and voluntarily returns to his cage then the cats can come into the room. He is messy with his food but poops are in one spot and not gross like they are eating garbage to survive. He is like a cat. He naps when they do.
❤
I remember seeing a few stories of pigeons in Boston that knew exactly which subway trains to get on and where to get off to get around the city to different places to feed. Someone managed to track several and found this out. They're some of the smartest animals out there, and besides parrots and crows, probably the smartest birds.
Imagine being able to fly and taking the subway 😭
@@sagesarrazine6270 Imagine thinking the subway would be on time every single time.
@@sagesarrazine6270 My guess is that the feeding places they were trying to get to were still within the metro, so flying from above would be useless since they wouldn’t be able to locate the feeding area if they had only ever seen it from inside
Edit: I’d assume flying can also be tiring. Plus, you’d have to swerve around buildings, poles, etc. Although I guess you could fly up high above the most of the buildings. Still have to consider things like the wind and temperature.
@@sagesarrazine6270 Just because I can walk places doesn't mean I'm gonna stop taking the subway. Let the birds be lazy.
Ain't no peregrine falcons taking the subway
2:04 I love that the pigeon that’s known as an alcoholic is the also the pigeon that has a built-in wifebeater on
Rock pigeons are the ogs, they were domesticated and then bred for different colours and abilities, and as they were escaped or released they formed a new species known as the feral pigeon or the feral pigeon. The rock doves are really uncommon and what you see is the feral pigeon which can sometimes look identical to the rock dove but also comes with many more patterns and colours
Your comment reminds me of the jabberjays and mockingjays.
No, they're still the same species, just a difference in habitat, behavior, and coloration.
Doves and pouters are to pigeons as german shepherds and jack russel terriers are to dogs. Same animal, different breed.
Pigeons are capable of recognizing specific people too. There's a collared dove who frequents my yard. He's an abandoned pet and comes to my yard often because he knows that my girlfriend and I will give him both food and, more importantly to him, affection. Buddy will literally climb onto hands and ask for neck strokes and head kisses. He craves affection specifically, as he's basically entirely unable to identify with his wild brethren since he was clearly raised in captivity by himself. I've taken to calling him Dragon.
Pigeons are my favorite birds and I'm really happy that people are putting more respect on their names these days. Pigeons are the only animals that can rival dogs in terms of how strong the loyalties they form with humans are.
My dad used to feed pigeons every weekend. He would drive down to the river with bread, bird seed, and cat kibble and just feed and hang out them. He would give them names and even identified their flying patterns to an extent. He did this so often that he bought a little stool specifically for this occasion. The pigeons began to recognize him and his car, even his new car when he got one. They would all flock to him and fight to sit on his arms or his head. He started to let them in the car and they would sit on the steering wheel or again on him. I don't know why he stopped, but we all have a soft spot for pigeons now, especially him. Every now and then we'll see pigeons eating at my moms bird feeder in our back yard, which use to make my mom upset because she didn't want them to poop everywhere, but she never did anything about it and now we expect them. We joke that they started showing up because they found my dad lol, which after watching this maybe they did and I like that thought
Ask why he stopped!
@@am_Nein He said it's because they kept putting signs up saying not to feed the birds. Every time they put up a new sign he would move further down the river, until I guess he gave up. He says he thinks he was the reason they put the signs up, which is really said cause not only did he really enjoy feeding them but he also got to know a lot of the people who were down there regularly. Someone even asked him if they could put him in the local paper because it was just a wholesome thing to see. We still have the newspaper clipping
Great story, thanks so much for sharing.
@@beccabaxmeyer8823 great story. I understand the not feeding pidgeons here in the city where theres literally gazillions and they poop everywhere but outside i dont see why they would be a problem.
I was expecting you to say in the end the pigeons ate your dad alive😂
keruru are very silly, as someone who lives alongside them. theyre always a little bigger than I expect
i once saw a pidgeon with most of its skull exposed and sunbleached, and it was still walking around like nothing was wrong with only one eye. they practice necromancy too.
Poor thing.
They’re just extremely tough. There’s a reason their population is so high despite rarely getting their correct diet and living in bad conditions. They can get something called string foot where their feet can fall off due to lack of blood, but even without feet they’ll still be able to walk
I've been defending Pigeons for YEARS. I'm so glad I've found a place where everyone likes them too. If only the general public knew how fluffy and cute they are...
I want one as a pet! They are so underrated but I think that's what makes them special.
pardon me for saying this
but where i came from we love pigeons a lot but not as pets we love it as a food
but yeah they are a good option as a pet just not the usual stereotype
I love pigeons, they're pretty smart and pretty dumb at the same time. I say dumb because they don't know how to rip their food apart like crows, but they're also smart, I've fed them the whole summer and they came to my window every day. I stopped however during autumn because I had to leave for uni, but this weekend I came back home and being winter they probably don't have enough food, so they saw me and came to my window again, my mom said they stopped coming a while ago, and they just saw me and decided to ask for some food again, they got really friendly and aren't too afraid of me anymore. It's gotten to the point that they eat from my hand and have no problem touching me, they're so sweet and lovely!
What are you talking about? There is still plenty of deg3n3,rated continue calling pigeon « rats with wings » after this video
We have a pet pigeon. She's taken my mom as her "partner" and I'm an important flock member. She was actually looking around searching for me when I was hospitalized.
Also, female pigeons are not that loyal. They are loyal, but will take the opportunity to have a little fling with another "male", and for example the pet pigeon will try and soap me up when mom is not around : )
They want to be around you and don't take loneliness well, is important to know.
I have a pet pigeon and he’s the sweetest !
My cousins had a white dove as a pet. We all swear she could recognize the voice cadence of someone telling a joke. She'd coo in a way that sounded like a laugh and would often be the first to laugh when someone told a joke.
Cher Ami the only messenger pigeon to reach the Lost Battalion’s headquarters section in WW1 I believe during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and is the most decorated bird maybe animal of all time.