by johnnymarin | May 24, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Crested pigeons are native to Australia and one of the growing number of birds that have adapted to the impact of humans on the environment and moved into urban areas.
Originally birds of the inland, restricted to arid and semi-arid, they have gradually spread, colonising Adelaide first in the 1980s during a severe drought and later appearing in Perth and Melbourne. Crested pigeons are now commonly found on most of the mainland, with the exception of the tropical northern areas.
Like all pigeons and doves these birds have a plump body with a rounded chest and the feathers on their flanks are modified to continuously produce powder down which is used to preen feathers.
They are easily identified from other similar birds as they have a thin black crest on the head. The only other pigeon in Australia with a crest is the Spinifex Pigeon, also found in arid areas.
Crested Pigeons have grey-brown plumage which has a pinkish tinge on the underparts and pink legs and feet and a red eye ring and eye. The wings are barred with black and decorated with glossy green and purple patches that are amazingly beautiful when caught in the light.
These birds are found in lightly wooded grasslands in rural and urban areas and always near water. They feed in pairs or small flocks and are often seen on golf courses, in parklands and urban streets.
They are ground feeding birds and eat native seeds and grasses and seeds from introduced crops and weeds. Clearing land for agriculture has significantly extended their range.
The birds build a delicate nest of twigs in small trees or dense bush and produce two eggs.
Both male and female birds have a unique glandular crop which secretes “crop-milk” on which the young are reared.
One of the most intriguing features of these birds is the whirring noise made by their wings when they are alarmed and take flight. This noise is caused by an adaptation to their wing structure resulting that the eighth primary flight feathers are half the width of the others.
This difference produces a high-pitched sound when the wing is pushed down and has become a critical part of an alarm system that warns the rest of the flock to flee the danger.
No other related pigeon has this survival feature.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of 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 Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | May 23, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Exercise, as we know, is important for everybody. And this pigeon got the memo, too. It was recorded on camera hard at work as it ran on a treadmill – er, make that an escalator bannister.
The video (above) posted on Twitter shows a pigeon defying an escalator by running in the opposite direction. But give it the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was just exercising.
The video has gone viral, for good reason.
The escalator-treadmill-workout also appears to be a conspiracy in the pigeon world. In 2012, another video of a pigeon similarly using an escalator to work out went viral as well.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of 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 Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | May 22, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Are humans the smartest animals on Earth? Not necessarily, according to primatologist Frans de Waal, author of Are “We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?”. He writes about chimpanzees that can remember numbers displayed for a few seconds better than humans can and dogs that can recognize human body language better than other humans.
It’s common knowledge that chimps and dogs (especially border collies) are pretty darn smart, but here are some other animals that are much more intelligent than we may realize.
1. PIGS
Pigs are considered to be among the smartest domestic animals in the world.
They can use joysticks to play video games, easily solve mazes, understand simple symbolic language and have excellent long-term memories (this, as I’ve previously pointed out, is just one reason why Donald Trump should not be called a pig).
Six-week-old piglets were able to learn how to use mirrors to find their hidden food. Seriously, could human infants do that?
2. SHEEP
Like pigs, sheep have very strong memory and recognition skills. One study found that they were able to remember 25 pairs of sheep faces more than two years later, which is longer than many humans could.
Sheep also exhibit emotional intelligence, indicated by their ability to form friendships, defend weaker sheep in fights and experience sadness when their friends are taken away to the slaughterhouse.
3. COWS
Cows are also cognitively and emotionally intelligent. They can quickly learn a variety of tasks, have long-term memories and can recognize human faces. They have friends as well as enemies, and they very strongly feel emotions like pain, fear and anxiety.
“These are highly developed mammals that have been solving problems for a long, long time,” said zoologist Dr. Daniel Weary in an interview with the Huffington Post. “If anything, it reflects poorly on us that we’re surprised that these animals are smart. Of course these animals are smart.”
4. FISH
The mosquitofish (live-bearing tooth carp), a small freshwater fish that gets its name from the mosquito larvae it consumes, can count up to four or higher. Researchers discovered that female mosquitofish that were being harassed by males would always swim off to a group of at least four other fish – never fewer than four.
Many other animals (including chickens, as you’ll soon learn) have the ability to count.
6. CROWS
Should “birdbrained” be considered a compliment? Absolutely, considering the intelligence of crows, pigeons, chickens and our other fine-feathered friends.
Crows have unusually large brains for their size, making their intelligence similar to that of problem-solving primates. They use those brains to recognize the faces of different species and determine if they are friends or foes.
They can also comprehend basic physics like water displacement, may be able to memorize garbage truck routes so they can follow them for scraps, and can change their migration pattern to detour around areas where crows have been killed.
Crows can also express gratitude: A little girl who fed crows in Seattle collected more than 70 “gifts” they left for her in the bird feeder, including earrings and a “Best Friend” charm.
6. PIGEONS
Pigeons can learn abstract mathematical rules, an ability they share only with humans and rhesus monkeys.
Their ability to solve problems is highly evolved. A study found that pigeons have the intelligence of a 3-year-old human child.
7. CHICKENS
Chickens can also solve complex problems, count and differentiate between geometric shapes. They can communicate using more than two dozen vocalizations, each of which has a different meaning.
Before they’re hatched, chicks use different-toned peeps to let their mothers know whether they’re cold or comfortable.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of 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 Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | May 21, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
As Venice tries to reduce the impact of mass tourism, the city has banned the opening of any more takeaway food outlets for the next three years.
It is an attempt to reduce the number of tourists snacking on church steps, historic bridges and canal banks, spoiling the aesthetics of what should be one of the most romantic and refined cities in the world.
Eating in the streets and piazzas of the World Heritage attraction also produces litter and encourages unwelcome flocks of pigeons and seagulls.
Large herring gulls have been known to snatch food out of people’s hands. The Venetian authorities are now saying “basta” (enough) to new pizza outlets, kebab shops and street food stalls.
The regulation was approved by Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, on Wednesday. It covers not only Venice but also the outlying islands of Murano and Burano, both of which are popular with visitors.
Murano is famed for its centuries-old tradition of glass-blowing and does a thriving trade in selling handmade ornaments, vases, bowls and even chandeliers.
Venice has struggled for years to impose a sense of decorum on its millions of visitors and takes a dim view of tourists holding impromptu picnics, jumping into canals and wandering around scantily dressed during the summer.
The city has a public information campaign called #EnjoyRespectVenezia, which calls for tourism that is “in harmony with the daily life of residents”. Visitors are asked to behave in a “responsible and respectful” manner.
“Steps of churches, bridges, wells, monuments and banks of canals are not picnic areas. Please use public gardens for this necessity,” the city advises.
Walking around in swimwear such as bikinis is forbidden, as is feeding the pigeons or standing around consuming food and drink in St Mark’s Square. An average of 60,000 tourists a day descend on Venice – more than its population.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of 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 Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | May 19, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Q: Why don’t pigeons migrate?
A: That’s an interesting question and part of the answer lies in the fact that these birds are not native to the United States. Settlers brought rock pigeons to this continent in the early 1600s. On their home grounds in Europe, North Africa and Asia, they don’t migrate but live and nest on rocky cliffs. They’ve adapted to urban life well, treating tall buildings as their home cliffs. Their strong homing instinct makes them easy to train as homing, racing and messenger birds. Similarly, another nonnative species, the house sparrow, is nonmigratory, as well.
Frozen food
Q: We were surprised to see a male cardinal eating the freeze-dried mealworms we set out for the chickadees. Is this unusual?
A: Birds had to put on a layer of fat each day to fight the cold, and your cardinal figured out that mealworms are an excellent source of energy. Cardinals seem to be fairly adventurous birds that are willing to try new things — maybe this one noticed a chickadee carrying off a mealworm and was intrigued. Once the cardinal tried them, he found the dried worms to be a good way to stoke his inner furnace.
Owls in the ’hood
Q: A pair of great horned owls was hanging around our neighborhood this winter, and we could hear them hooting back and forth. The whole neighborhood is hoping they nest nearby, maybe in a large pine tree, and keep the rabbits under control.
A: Imagine having these large owls nesting right in the neighborhood. I think you and your neighbors can count on two things: Since they’re not nest-builders, the owls will need to adopt a nest built by another species (red-tailed hawk, crows, even squirrels) or a large break in a tree to settle into. And now that it’s spring, the owls will be feeding their voracious owlets, and rabbits may begin to disappear from the neighborhood.
Disappearing act
Q: We have robins nesting around our property from spring into July every year, and then they seem to disappear. Isn’t that too early for them to fly south? Where do they go?
A: Good question, and as you know, robins in our region raise at least two broods during the breeding season. As summer progresses and the second nesting period begins to wrap up, the males gather in parks and natural areas to feed and roost. As young robins become independent, they find these flocks. Females join them once they’ve finished raising their last brood. The robins will spend the final weeks of summer and fall fattening up and preparing for migration (although not all will leave).
Feisty red bird
Q: A male cardinal has been attacking our windows this past fall and winter. I know they will do this during breeding season, but he’s out there every day, attacking numerous windows. What gives with this bird?
A: You’re right, this behavior is not uncommon in the spring, when birds maintaining their territories will attack “competitors” they see reflected in windows. I checked with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and researcher Andrew Farnsworth says that your bird may be a highly dominant male who is trying to keep other cardinals out of his territory. Anything that cuts down on the reflectivity of your windows (cardboard on the outside, curtains closed inside, etc.) may help deter him.
Raptor meal
Q: We just happened to be looking out the window as a bald eagle held a struggling Canada goose down and began to rip off its feathers. The eagle fed for a while and then was joined by another, which we assumed was its mate. Were they pairing up this early?
A: I suspect that the hapless goose probably had an injury or illness that made it unable to escape the eagle’s talons. And at the time of your observation, early February, bald eagles had been building or refurbishing their nests for some weeks. Female bald eagles in our region begin laying eggs as early as mid-February. So the birds you saw were probably a nesting pair, and you may be lucky enough to spot the nest near your home.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of 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 Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
