Male pigeon killing young.. (1 Viewer)

[Pigeonlver]

Hi

I had been keeping my eye on two little pigeons that hatched on my patio a day after Easter..
they were so cute..the nest was hiddin behind a planter, not out in the open..
For months Id hear pigeons making aggressive noises out there near the nest, I thought it was the mother,not wanting another pigeon to disturb her nest...or warning off one that got too close..
I didnt think the babies were in danger from other pigeons..
today I peeked behind the planter and saw the babies had been visciuosly
pecked to death..it was awful..theywere torn apart..I was so angry
and upset.

I ve been so distraught about this..later I saw the mother on the patio railing staring down at her nest..
it was heartbreaking..

There are many pigeons around my complex..Im on the top floor..
Has anyone ever heard of pigeons doing this?
Im guessing it was a male who had been harrassing her the past couple of months,,..
What would be the reason for killing the babies?..the nest was not in view..

I keep thinking I could have done some to prevent this..
Im just sick over this.
Thankyou for listening..

 

[d hood]

hi

when watching or nest recording feral pigeons i have sometimes found (feathered) nestlings that appear to have been attacked and evicted - injuries ranging from a few feathers plucked from the back of the head to loss of eyes or scalp. on occasions i have seen adult birds (at least some of which appear to be male) attacking nestlings. unfortunately, as the events have occurred on the (inaccessible) underside of a bridge, one could only watch and hope that the young survived.

yours

duncan hood

 

[The Tom]

Hi

I had been keeping my eye on two little pigeons that hatched on my patio a day after Easter..
they were so cute..the nest was hiddin behind a planter, not out in the open..
For months Id hear pigeons making aggressive noises out there near the nest, I thought it was the mother,not wanting another pigeon to disturb her nest...or warning off one that got too close..
I didnt think the babies were in danger from other pigeons..
today I peeked behind the planter and saw the babies had been visciuosly
pecked to death..it was awful..theywere torn apart..I was so angry
and upset.

I ve been so distraught about this..later I saw the mother on the patio railing staring down at her nest..
it was heartbreaking..

There are many pigeons around my complex..Im on the top floor..
Has anyone ever heard of pigeons doing this?
Im guessing it was a male who had been harrassing her the past couple of months,,..
What would be the reason for killing the babies?..the nest was not in view..

I keep thinking I could have done some to prevent this..
Im just sick over this.
Thankyou for listening..

Hi Iver pigeons are as with most birds usually very good parents and will allways defend their nest and young to the best of their ability and will even raise the squabs themselves if one or other of the pair is killed , the problem you observed will usually only take place when the cock bird is lost and another cock takes over the nest site I have seen almost fully fledged young birds attacked in this way and quite severely injured . I dont really know why they do this perhaps they see these young birds as rivals as pigeons are very territorial and will fight almost to the death to defend their nest area . There was Im afraid nothing you could have done as unless the birds where fully fledged their fate was sealed .

 

[Anthony Morton]

Hi Iver,

During the act of mating, the hen bird (female pigeon) adopts a crouching position ready for the male to mount her. At this time she unfortunately looks very similar to how she appears when sitting on her nest - especially to a randy cock bird on the look-out for spare nookety-coo that is!

Cases of 'mistaken identity' do occasionally happen on these occasions, resulting in another male trying to mate with a female while she is sitting on her nest. She politely tells him to push off because she's got a headache but by this time he's simply not in any mood to listen.

As The Tom says, pigeons will defend their nest to the death under these circumstances. In a confined space this can quickly lead to the eggs becoming broken, or even the squabs being trampled to death in the ensuing skirmish. Afterwards deep gashes caused by the combatants claws are often the only visible sign on the bodies of the (thankfully) few youngsters which die in this way.