1. What bird has been domesticated the longest?
2. What winged creature can think abstractly, form concepts, and commit images to memory many times faster than human beings?
3. What animal did the artist Picasso love so much that he named his daughter after it?
4. What bird has no sound for pain — and therefore suffers and dies in silence?
5. What animal was used in Desert Storm to send messages that otherwise would not have gotten through due to intense radio jamming?
Unscramble the following word to find the answer to these questions: GINEPO
— Courtesy of The Urban Wildlife Society
Pigeons have been in the news frequently in the past year. London Mayor Ken Livingstone branded the poor creatures, “rats with wings,” and led a high profile campaign to have them removed from London’s Trafalgar Square. Despite opposition from animal rights groups, Livingstone prevailed, and the square’s pigeons had their food supply cut off in a phased withdrawal ending April 30.
Livingstone’s dislike of the birds was supposedly linked to the damage that they do to buildings, statues and other outdoor fixtures. He also claimed that they are a health risk. While it is true that the uric acid in pigeon droppings damages painted surfaces, canvas awnings and signs, there is no significantly substantiated evidence that pigeons are a major threat to public health.
Pigeons and mankind have had a long and varied history especially in the Middle East. Pigeons appear to have been first domesticated by the Egyptians. The Pharaohs maintained their prized birds in royal pigeon lofts and, later, the Sultans built magnificent pigeon houses. During the campaigns of the Greeks and Romans in this region, pigeons informed the home front on the victories and defeats of kings and generals. In the 12th century, pigeons were the newsmen between the lands we now call Iraq and Syria.
Even in these hectic modern times the passion to raise and show pigeons continues. In the outdoor markets of Saudi Arabia, especially in the cites of Qateef and Riyadh, row upon row of pigeons are available for sale. The hobby today is quite diverse with breeders generally focusing on one type of pigeon, either fancy pigeons, racers, or performers. There is also a profitable business in raising pigeons as livestock but we won’t dwell on that here. In the course of researching and writing this article, I was strongly and repeatedly advised that hobbyists do not eat their birds!
Pigeon is an inclusive name for birds of the family Columbidae, a cosmopolitan group made up of about 300 species. Generally, larger species are called pigeons and smaller ones are known as doves, though there is no technical distinction. Pigeons mate for life, although if one dies the other will take a new mate. They rear their broods together.
The courting behavior of pigeons is fascinating to watch. The birds provide a high level of affectionate attention to their mates that can only be described as “romantic.”
Once the courting formalities are over and the simple nest is built, the female lays an egg and then another a day or so later. The incubation period for common pigeons is 17 to 19 days. In the wild, the female sits on the egg from late afternoon through the night until about 10 a.m. The male then takes over and does the day shift. This behavior may be changed in captive breeding when one male is fertilizing the eggs of many females. Once the eggs hatch, both parents feed the young squabs.
The first food for the squabs is pigeon milk or crop milk. This secretion is remarkably similar to mammalian milk, being rich in proteins and fats. In fact, many of the early advances in the study of milk production for the dairy industry were made using laboratory pigeons.
The pigeon milk is fed to the squabs for a week or so. Then the adults start regurgitating partially digested grains for the young. By the time the squabs are ready to fly at about four weeks, the father is doing most of the feeding. The squabs are fed for another week to 10 days after they are free-flying. Due to the father’s intense involvement in the raising of the young, hobbyists often find that they must step in and provide supplemental nourishment by hand because no male is available.
The beauty and charm of his pigeons led one Saudi to push for the spread of his hobby further than the confines of his own pigeon loft. Jafar A. Jawad decided to take his interest online in the hope that it would attract attention from breeders worldwide and become a forum to strengthen the hobby in the Kingdom. Thus mykamikazepigeon.ws was hatched in the spring of this year.
Now don’t be disturbed by the site’s name. Jawad chose the startling URL simply to attract attention to the website — not because his birds have some sort of death wish. And since coming online he has received an enormous response.
“I have been quite delighted to get e-mail from as far away as Australia, Denmark and England,” said Jawad. “The breeders writing to me, especially those from Europe, have been surprised at the quality, color and type of birds I’m raising. We have already had discussions about exchanging birds and about me bringing my birds to participate in European shows.”
Jawad is a fancier. This means that he breeds his pigeons for their looks, not for any particular abilities. He always had a love for nature and remembers feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square when he was just six years old. As a teenager he had a pigeon house and he maintained his interest in the birds even during his studies in the United States. Once he had collected his degree, he returned to the Kingdom and again got the chance to raise his beloved birds. Jawad took four pairs of pigeons from an uncle and now has a couple of hundred. His favorites can be seen at the website.
“Taking photos of the birds for the website was a challenge,” explained Jawad. “They just don’t stay still. I would maneuver the bird into the right position and just as I would press down on the shutter button it would move. Usually working with the birds is very relaxing but getting the pictures of them was extremely stressful and I’m still not completely satisfied with all the shots.”
Jawad’s pigeons are an important part of his life. Every day after work he goes to his pigeon house to take care of his pets. He has hired an assistant to help with the cleaning and feeding chores but there are still many other activities that must be done. Jawad is particularly fond of raising one type of pigeon called the Oriental Frill. These birds have small beaks and can’t feed their young properly. Their squabs are often raised either by ordinary pigeons which have normal sized beaks or they must be hand fed.
At his pigeon house, after all the squabs are cared for, then Jawad must inspect every adult bird for signs of illness. This is important because some viral diseases spread rapidly. The lack of adequate veterinary care is a terrible problem here in Saudi Arabia and pigeon breeders must depend on themselves to cure their birds.
“There really is no good resource here in the Kingdom if one of my birds becomes ill,” said Jawad sadly. “I would say this is the only negative part of raising pigeons in Saudi Arabia. If one of my birds becomes ill and I can’t diagnose what ails it, I talk with other breeders and try to find a treatment through their experience. One of my favorite birds has some sort of neck problem right now and I don’t know what is wrong with it. I am afraid to do anything to it for fear I’ll make the condition worse but the poor thing looks so miserable that I really want to help it in any way possible. With all the birds we have in the Kingdom we really need veterinarians trained to care for them.”
The fun begins after the birds are cleaned, fed and checked for illness. Pigeons are very amusing, social birds. Jawad often brings his four-year-old daughter Ariana to play with them.
“My little daughter loves to pet the babies and hold them,” said Jawad. “The birds are really charming with children. Now I am making a special part of the website just to interest children. It is good to involve youngsters in early contacts with animals. Children need to experience nature and pigeons are such soft, kind animals for children to interact with.”
Perhaps it is in the traditional doves of love and peace that we can now find the best role models for our own young. Pigeons mate for life and as a couple they care for their families. They share feeding areas and live peacefully with each other. When they move into a new community they do not displace the native species. If only we humans did so well.
