Pigeon chicks have a specific appearance, it is more vulnerable than other species. Parents who do not care for nests who leave the nest are not cared for, as do jackdaws or crows. But adults try to protect the posterity as much as possible, hiding it from animals, people and vehicles. Why do you never see the pigeon chicks, how they look, where they hide – all of these questions are answered in this article..
What do pigeon chicks look like?
Pigeons are born from the hatched egg blind, deaf and completely bald. Before plumage appears on their body, small ones look awkward and do not attract attention with their appearance, even if the nest is in a bush.
The birth weight of the chick is only 10 g, and already 4 hours after birth he needs food. Pigeons do not even have thin and rare fluff, so parents never leave the nest where their children grow up unattended. The female remains with the offspring, and during her absence, the male warms the children.
Externally, newborns have a characteristic disproportionality. They have:
- small head;
- very big eyes;
- wide long beak;
- relatively large body;
- small wings.
Did you know? Pigeons have a highly developed parental instinct. Even if one of the couple dies, the second will continue to feed and protect the offspring on their own.
Where are the pigeon chicks
The ancestors of modern pigeons nested in rocks and caves, so today these birds choose similar places for hatching eggs.
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In cities, this can be the roof of a multi-storey building, a place under the windowsill, under the bridge. In fact, the shelter is located anywhere, the main criterion is inaccessibility.
Wild pigeons, especially turtledoves, choose abandoned buildings, attics of enterprises, residential private houses. The nests where the chicks are located can even be found in the dense crowns of tall trees.
Why we never see them
People do not see pigeon chicks for two reasons:
- birds choose remote and inconspicuous places for nesting, where they hide with young animals from external threats;
- young individuals remain in the nest until they are fully grown.
Sometimes, through negligence (or trying to fly too early), doves can fall out of the nest - they have no chance to survive. If you saw one chick on the ground, not fully fledged, often with a bald head, the only way to help him is to take him home and feed him. Do not try to find the nest and put the bird back, this will sign the verdict to the rest of the young.
You can look at young individuals today in artificial pigeons. Pigeons living there are accustomed to man and trust him, therefore they do not leave their nests.
Important! By their nature, pigeons are characterized by a high threshold of anxiety, so you should absolutely not touch their chicks if you find a nest. If you leave a human smell on them or on objects next to them, you will condemn them to death from hunger and cold — their parents will never return to them.
Because of ignorance, people often pick up fledglings in the street that should not be touched. And, on the contrary, pass by the fallen pigeons, believing that the bird has a strange appearance due to illness. Never rush to conclusions if you do not have reliable information.
