A native green and bronze wood pigeon with a taste for fermented fruit has been named the 2018 bird of the year in New Zealand.
The kererū is endemic to the country and can be found in both the North and South islands, living in cities as well as rural areas. Although quiet and reclusive by nature, kererū have earned a reputation as the drunkest bird in New Zealand, and been known to fall from trees after consuming rotting fruit left lying on the ground. During the summer when fruit is in abundance drunk kererū are sometimes taken to wildlife centres to sober up.
Described by conservation group Forest and Bird as “clumsy, drunk, gluttonous and glamorous,” the Kererū population is not endangered, but is vulnerable to attacks by predators such as feral cats and stoats, and also competes with possums for food.
Kererū play a vital role in dispersing the seeds of native New Zealand species such as karaka, miro, tawa and taraire across large areas, because they are one of the few birds large enough to swallow the fruit whole.
It was the clear leader in the poll, with 5,833 votes. The kākāpō came second with 3,772 and the Kakī or black stilt, an extremely rare bird that is raised by hand, coming third with 2,995 votes.
The kererū has been known to fall out of the occasional tree. Photograph: Ross Land/Getty Images
The competition, organised by Forest and Bird, is in its 14th year, and pits the country’s rare and endangered birds against one another. No bird has won twice, and this year saw the highest voter turnout on record, despite 2,000 votes being discarded after they were found to be fraudulent and originating from Australia.
More than 48,000 votes were cast this year, up from 41,000 in 2017.
Overseas celebrity endorsements from Stephen Fry for the kākāpō, and comedian Bill Bailey for the takahē upped the stakes in this year’s competition, with bird of the year also featuring on Tinder for the first time, with Shelly the kakī, or black stilt, attracting 500 matches across the country.
Although she voted for the black petrel (tāiko), prime minister Jacinda Ardern quickly offered the kererū her congratulations.
“The kererū is one of our most recognisable birds, it is often heard before it is seen,” Forest & Bird’s Megan Hubscher told Radio NZ. “It is one of our few birds that is doing OK. Only one in five of New Zealand’s native birds are increasing in number or stable, 80% are decreasing. But the kererū is doing pretty well.”
Hubscher said there were some regions of the country where kererū was not doing well – including Northland – and this was largely down to poor predator control.
However in other parts of the country where populations are thriving – such as the capital city of Wellington – road signs warn motorists to be careful because of flying kererū, which can cause serious damage because of their size and weight.
Kererū used to be hunted for their meat and feathers, but they are now protected and it is illegal to hunt them.
Some Māori tribes are given permission by the department of conservation to use the bones and feathers of kererū for cultural reasons, and reports ofthe birds being eaten for special occasions arise occasionally.
There are 168 bird species in New Zealand and about a third are threatened with extinction, with dozens more on the endangered list. Some species have dwindled to a few hundred individuals tucked away in isolated pockets of the country.
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Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird
deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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That pigeon in your neighborhood may not be your typical bird. Seattle Animal Control Officer Kevin Mack reports several “banded” pigeons found in the city recently.
“We’ve received at least two banded racing pigeons in the last couple weeks,” said Mack. “And I’ve had at least three sightings of banded birds that were moving through the city.
“These birds are essentially identical to local feral pigeons you see in the city, Rock Pigeons. But they really are domesticated birds and they usually have owners that want them back.”
People who race pigeons usually have a coop at their residence. They raise the birds, register them with their organization of choice, and then race them.
The race consists of driving the pigeon a pre-determined distance from their coop, setting them loose, and then seeing how long it takes them to return. Some pigeons are better at homing than others so sometimes they get lost on their way back. Other times they get injured or just plain tired.
The American Racing Pigeon Union is one of the most popular pigeon racing groups. You can tell the pigeons belong to someone who belongs to the group because they have bands on their legs with the letters “AU” on them. If you find an AU-banded pigeon
The site also has good information about how to read the information on the band and some links to other organizations for birds with other types of bands.
The pigeon that is being sheltered at the Seattle Animal Shelter is from Jeanerett, Louisiana because its band includes the local club code. “2022” is the bird’s hatch year and the long number found on the other side of the band is the bird’s unique identifier.
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird
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Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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Many animals will sound an alarm to alert other members of their group of impending danger. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on November 9 have shown that crested pigeons do this in a surprisingly non-vocal way. One of their main flight feathers produces a critical high-pitched sound as the birds fly away. As they flap faster to escape a predator, that alarm signal automatically increases in tempo.
Importantly, the researchers also show that other crested pigeons flee when they hear that sound. The findings confirm that the sound is a bona fide signal, not just a side effect of flight.
“Crested pigeons signal danger with noisy wings, not voices,” says Trevor Murray of The Australian National University. “It shows that birds really can use their feathers as ‘musical instruments’ to communicate with others.”
Charles Darwin proposed the idea of non-vocal “instruments” in birds about 150 years ago, but it has been a difficult idea to test. Scientists had long known that crested pigeons make loud sounds when they fly. For that reason, they are sometimes called “whistle-winged pigeons.” The Australian National University lab led by Robert Magrath earlier found that other pigeons pay attention to those sounds.
To confirm that the whistling feathers were indeed an alarm signal, in this new study, the researchers shot high-speed video and conducted feather-removal experiments. These studies show that the birds’ unusually narrow eighth primary wing feather produces a distinct note with each downstroke. The sound also changes as birds flap faster, such that those fleeing danger produce wing sounds with a higher tempo.
In fact, the birds’ wings produce alternating high and low notes in flight. The researchers’ experiments showed that the eighth primary wing feather is responsible for the high notes. The low notes come from the ninth primary feather. But, playback experiments showed, only the high notes are critical for sounding an alarm.
When the researchers played flight sounds to other pigeons, individuals were much more likely to flee upon hearing the flight of a bird with an intact eighth primary feather. When they played the sound of a pigeon with that eighth feather removed, they often just looked around instead of taking off.
“We show that the crested pigeon produces an acoustic alarm signal with its wings and that it is an intrinsically reliable signal of danger,” Murray says. “The alarm signal is intrinsically reliable because pigeons flap faster to escape predators, and this fast flapping automatically produces the high-tempo alarm signal.”
Crested pigeons are not the only birds known to produce unusually loud sounds with their wings, the researchers note. Pigeons in general fly noisily. Hummingbirds and manikins are also well known for their wing sounds. They hope that future studies will explore the evolution of wing sounds in other bird species.
“Birds have such prominent voices, we have largely ignored their surprisingly complex instrumental sounds,” Magrath says.
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird
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Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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Two patients have died at a hospital after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings.
The individuals are thought have caught the airborne disease at the Queen Elizabeth University hospital in Glasgow after inhaling the fungus cryptococcus, typically found in soil and pigeon droppings.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), which runs the hospital, has launched an investigation into the outbreak. It said the likely source of the pigeon droppings was a non-public room, thought to contain machinery, which has now been cleaned.
NHSGGC said “control measures” had been introduced, which is understood to mean equipment to filter the air in some parts of the hospital, and that some patients, including children, who may be vulnerable to the disease have received medication, which was proving effective.
The health board said that the second patient who died was elderly and the death was due to an unrelated matter. It said it could not share further details of the case because of patient confidentiality.
Teresa Inkster, NHSGGC lead consultant for infection control, said: “Cryptococcus lives in the environment throughout the world. It rarely causes infection in humans. People can become infected with it after breathing in the microscopic fungi, although most people who are exposed to it never get sick from it.”
She said there had been no further cases since control measures were put in place. “We are continuing to monitor the air quality and these results are being analysed. It remains our priority to ensure a safe environment for patients and staff,” she added.
Portable air filters have been installed to help reassure “vulnerable patients”, NHSGGC said, adding that the organism is “harmless to the vast majority of people and rarely causes disease in humans”. A group of hospital patients are being moved within the hospital “due to their clinical diagnosis and ongoing treatment”.
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
Prior to this past weekend I had never heard of pigeon bowling. Who has? Even upon learning about it, I thought it was a joke. But then I saw the footage, from the Harrow Fair in Essex, Ont., shared across social and news media over the last few days.
And there it was. Fair-goers, including children, intently watching as competitors roll live birds into balls and toss them along the ground. The birds flutter and flap to a stop, their place marked by a judge.
It could be comical if not so dumbfounding, so disturbing. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Not surprisingly, the footage and news stories went viral. The shock was immediate and the online vitriol continues today.
How could such an obviously ridiculous — obviously wrong — event be taking place, not in some foreign place we can chalk up to different cultural standards, but right in our own backyard?
I am not a pigeon expert, and those who claim to be, in this case, state this particular type of bird rolls naturally, that they are bred for this and are treated well. I’m sure most of these folks aren’t actually animal abusers. They’ve likely been watching and participating in this event their whole lives. And now, to have their wholesome event infiltrated, their traditions exposed for all to see, it must be jarring.
But it’s certainly necessary. Because the time has come for country fairs to change.
Another classic fair event, the pig scramble, has also come under well-deserved scrutiny in recent years. The event, which typically sees children frantically chasing and capturing terrified piglets, was cancelled at one PEI fair in 2017. The famous Sonoma County Fair in California also cancelled its recently, due to animal welfare concerns. Instead, pig chasing has been replaced with a slippery watermelon obstacle course.
As a culture, we are waking up to the fact that using animals in these ways is wrong.
And just as keeping captive whales and dolphins was recently banned in Canada and animal circuses are being barred by more and more municipalities across the country, it’s time for unethical fair events, including pigeon bowling and pig wrestling, to also go the way of the dodo.
The issue is not even whether or not these types of events are cruel. The issue is, whether it’s a massive whale at Marineland, or a small pigeon at the Harrow Fair, there simply is no ethical argument to justify exploiting animals for our silly entertainment.
Not anymore. We just know too much now. We know animals can experience stress and fear. We know animals are individuals with their own natural needs and desires.
This may be a tough pill to swallow, for the farming-4H-country crowd, but ultimately, this change is good. Values and traditions and knowledge can evolve for the better. You can, too.
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
