White flock, Edinburgh, Scotland (1 Viewer)

[TomMalcC]

Seen this flock a few times over farmland on the western edge of Edinburgh over the last few months. Presuming they are doves? But not really sure that’s likely? Thoughts?

TomC

 

[Deb Burhinus]

Flock of racing pigeon/doves? Not sure why they’d all be sitting on a wire, though perhaps they did a runner? 😁 Or just feral birds ie white homing doves that were released for an event?

 

[Tiger40]

Hmmm, strange why they're sat on a wire mind you, I've seen a few starlings sat on telephone wires before now. Perhaps that's a bit more common.
Talking of pigeons though I saw on Winterwatch earlier that they can actually detect diseases. Wow, I never thought that they would be able to do that. It just goes to show that animals are not daft.

 

[Deb Burhinus]

Pigeon and dove species regularly sit on wires - it’s just that (and I know little about homing doves or racing pigeons) I didn’t think they rested up if they were captive birds on a homing flight?

 

[TomMalcC]

Don’t think these are currently active racers. These drift around the farmland all day, occasionally sitting on wires. Then they land on the fields to eat.

Pigeon and dove species regularly sit on wires - it’s just that (and I know little about homing doves or racing pigeons) I didn’t think they rested up if they were captive birds on a homing flight?

 

[Deb Burhinus]

Don’t think these are currently active racers.

I agree, that would be my assessment too as I said, I didn‘t think homing doves or pigeons would hang around like this. They are almost certainly not active racers.

They could still be domestic pigeons though, the two white ones look like Fantails - just reading this

Any information on white doves? - Wildlife questions - Wildlife - The RSPB Community

I could be wrong, but I can't find any information on this site about white doves! I saw a flock of them flying, pure white against the bright blue sky, and it was

community.rspb.org.uk

“Domestic pigeons are often bred in all-white forms and these are popularly known as 'white doves' though they are the same species as other domestic (and feral) pigeons. Probably the most popular breed is the fantail, a pigeon selectively bred to have a big wide tail that it holds fanned out in display - most fantails are white though they come in other colours too. Many pigeon-keepers let their birds fly around at liberty as they will return to the dovecot to roost and nest.“

Someone nearby has a dovecot perhaps.

 

[Mono]

There has been a white flock around my part of Kendal for 25 years. They always stay together and perch out in the open like above. They are rumoured to have been a wedding "white dove" release that didn't go back home. Over the years and the generations some have cross bred with the other feral pigeons and have mixed plumage but there are still a handful of the pure white birds that stay together and keep the lineage going.

 

[RichieTwitchy]

We have a small flock - all completely white - around here by Aintree Racecourse. Always sitting on the wires - angelic looking birds.