ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
This has been buzzing around in my head for two days now, and I just can't work it out. I've been feeding and watching the birds in the garden for years, and I've been hand-feeding Pigeons for most of them. I get a close look at Pigeons, and at their behaviour (We'll ignore the Sparrowhawks and Jays and other birds, as it's not relevant.), and I saw something yesterday that confused me:
One of the Pigeons, a white male, has been visiting for at least three years; I know he's male from Cere size, general size, and head shape; I also know he's a male because I've seen him display and mate. He has quite a unique plumage, and a habit of landing on my shoulder and pecking my ear or neck if I don't feed him. Of the 60+ regular Pigeons that visit, he's one of the easiest to identify and sex.
Yesterday evening he turned up as usual; I'd not seen him during the day for a week or more, so figured he was in the nest and swapping places with his mate during the evening. Anyway, he landed on my shoulder and pecked the collar of my coat. I don't see well at close range without spectacles, but I thought he looked a bit odd just below the breast, and it felt a bit odd under my coat. As he flew down I noticed a large white lump hanging from his stomach; the lump was covered in white feathers, and it looked like a feather-covered egg... and that what it was! When he landed, the bottom of the egg must have hit the ground and cracked, because as he flew up to my hand again, a foetus and yoke fell out of the egg and onto the ground.
I now thought that "he" must in fact be "she", and that she was laying an egg while being fed with her nest nowhere in sight... which would be a stupid thought... wouldn't it? A closer look confirmed that the egg was in the wrong place, and was stuck just below the breast; not far enough to the rear. So I thought it must be some sort of prolapse (Oviduct prolapse? after some googling), and that she was as good as dead with or without seeing a Vet. But that didn't fit, as she was feeding normally, no signs of pain or distress, just a bit awkward landing with an egg dangling below the breast. So I figured it was probably the last I'd see of her, and that she'd have a painful death. I did consider catching her, but she'd flown off before I'd decided.
I looked online, but nothing really fit, so I started to rethink, and trust my original judgement that "she" was a "he". So now I had a male Pigeon with an egg stuck to his stomach, and not a freshly laid egg judging by the development of the foetus. All I can come up with is Glue; my head is spinning with how it got there though. Maybe it's a nesting deterrent that I'm unaware of; make the eggs sticky so the Pigeons fly off with them
And he just turned up this evening minus the egg, but with a small tuft of feathers hanging slightly down from his stomach
Any thoughts on this?
(BTW, too dark for pictures)
One of the Pigeons, a white male, has been visiting for at least three years; I know he's male from Cere size, general size, and head shape; I also know he's a male because I've seen him display and mate. He has quite a unique plumage, and a habit of landing on my shoulder and pecking my ear or neck if I don't feed him. Of the 60+ regular Pigeons that visit, he's one of the easiest to identify and sex.
Yesterday evening he turned up as usual; I'd not seen him during the day for a week or more, so figured he was in the nest and swapping places with his mate during the evening. Anyway, he landed on my shoulder and pecked the collar of my coat. I don't see well at close range without spectacles, but I thought he looked a bit odd just below the breast, and it felt a bit odd under my coat. As he flew down I noticed a large white lump hanging from his stomach; the lump was covered in white feathers, and it looked like a feather-covered egg... and that what it was! When he landed, the bottom of the egg must have hit the ground and cracked, because as he flew up to my hand again, a foetus and yoke fell out of the egg and onto the ground.
I now thought that "he" must in fact be "she", and that she was laying an egg while being fed with her nest nowhere in sight... which would be a stupid thought... wouldn't it? A closer look confirmed that the egg was in the wrong place, and was stuck just below the breast; not far enough to the rear. So I thought it must be some sort of prolapse (Oviduct prolapse? after some googling), and that she was as good as dead with or without seeing a Vet. But that didn't fit, as she was feeding normally, no signs of pain or distress, just a bit awkward landing with an egg dangling below the breast. So I figured it was probably the last I'd see of her, and that she'd have a painful death. I did consider catching her, but she'd flown off before I'd decided.
I looked online, but nothing really fit, so I started to rethink, and trust my original judgement that "she" was a "he". So now I had a male Pigeon with an egg stuck to his stomach, and not a freshly laid egg judging by the development of the foetus. All I can come up with is Glue; my head is spinning with how it got there though. Maybe it's a nesting deterrent that I'm unaware of; make the eggs sticky so the Pigeons fly off with them
And he just turned up this evening minus the egg, but with a small tuft of feathers hanging slightly down from his stomach
Any thoughts on this?
(BTW, too dark for pictures)
