It’s a wonder why city streets are strewn across them – given the fact that urban pigeons rarely live for more than three or four years. London alone is estimated to contain more than a million pigeons, inhabiting the many gardens and parks that crisscross its 1,000 square miles. Pigeons are as ubiquitous in the world’s cities as late-night takeaways and bad traffic.
There are several possible reasons for this. Pigeons are just one part of the wide array of creatures that have adopted our cities as their home. Ravens, crows, gulls, rats, foxes, and deceased pigeons all do a wonderful job, performing invaluable services to the urban ecosystem by reducing human exposure to rotting matter and helping cut the transmission of infectious diseases.
Whether you’re lucky enough to bring home one as a pet or if you’re a resident moggy, there are an estimated half a million cats living alone in London, preying on pigeons and whisking away any pigeon corpses they come across, usually through the surreptitious network of street cleaners.
High-rise hideaways
Most pigeons, however, simply don’t drop dead on the ground to understand where they are likely to go when feeling unwell or vulnerable. We need to delve into their origins to understand where pigeons in cities see domestic pigeons who have undergone some serious rewilding. These pigeons were originally bred as homing pigeons, who relayed important messages over long distances using large telephones before birds were trained. Even these pigeons, we see in cities, are domestic pigeons who have won prestigious medals in both world wars.
They are in hiding, these pigeons, often expiring unseen by us and also evading predators: remaining unnoticed and out of reach, they hope to find solace on ledges, in attics, and within ventilation systems. These remote and dim places instinctively serve as retreats for injured or sick pigeons, as they recall the environment of their ancestral homes. Their high-rise buildings provide ideal nesting sites for feral pigeons, resembling the caves along the coastal cliffs where their wild rock dove ancestors once inhabited centuries ago, tracing back even further to the original homing pigeons.
Gone before their time
What actually causes pigeons to die? Pigeons become more susceptible to disease as they get older. They often react slower to oncoming predators and can become isolated from the rest of the group, making them an easy prey for diseases. It is a well-established fact that a flock of slower birds can be attacked by a predator, such as other predators or peregrine falcons. Many pigeons are snapped up by falcons when they show signs of sickness or slowness, as age old dying is not a luxury afforded to most pigeons.
Underneath the scavengers from afar, there are typically lifeless pigeons dangling fruitlessly after some unsuccessful struggle on the ground below. It is usually positioned high above, making it difficult for any unlucky bird, but not for sick or elderly pigeons, to notice. The netting that hangs around buildings often serves as a macabre alternative, occurring predominantly in large cities.
There are many ways that pigeons can pass on from this world, whether they take place within the internal urban ecosystem or in a secluded corner of a remote rooftop skyscraper. These birds can encounter various obstacles created by humans and may be snatched by airborne predators.