Getting To Know Pigeons In Arizona

There is a fast growing pigeon problem throughout Arizona.  But you may be asking, what is wrong with a few pigeons flying around?  Pigeons can be seen perching on billboards, hanging around large shopping centers, standing on business signage, and around many Arizona neighborhoods.  They are not very big, they are not out attacking or injuring neighborhood animals, and they don’t want much to do with humans.  So why would there be any concern over Pigeons?

Pigeons are actually a very special and interesting bird.  They can have the ability to fly at over fifty miles per hour, and some can travel nearly 600 miles in a single day.  Pigeons have very strong homing instincts and can find their way back from long distances.  Pigeons have even been used as message carries within our history.  During the early Olympic games in Greece pigeons were used to carry the news of who won the events.  Many ornithologists would share their appreciation for a pigeon’s intellect, colorful beauty, and interesting behaviors.

Pigeons are on average about thirteen inches long from their beak to their tail.  A pigeon commonly weighs close to one pound.  There are at least twenty-eight different color patterns found on a pigeon.  If you look closely pigeons have either orange or reddish-orange eyes.  Pigeons usually have red colored feet and legs, but can also have feathers covering their feet and legs.  These coverings are called stockings.  Pigeons have extremely good eyesight and can see colors, and also ultra-violet light spectrums beyond that of humans.  Pigeons have very healthy appetites and will eat nearly anything they can get their beaks on. They will drink by using their beaks as a straw by taking in water and then tilting their head back to ingest that water.

Pigeons have a language and use alarms calls as well. Often people have heard the coo-ing sound, which is most common.  Pigeons will lay two eggs at a time and share the responsibility of keeping the eggs warm for the eighteen days it takes to hatch.  In most cities there are no natural enemies of pigeons.  The only worry they would have is humans.  In more open places large birds of prey like hawks will hunt and eat the birds.  A pigeon’s life can be nearly five or more years in the wild and some have lived beyond fifteen years in captivity.  It is believed that pigeons were first seen in America in the early 1600’s.

Now that pigeons have made a place here in Arizona, homeowners now have to worry about filthy deposits of feces, roof damage, dead birds, and possible disease.  Pigeons can spread harmful diseases and parasites.  The most common disease spread by pigeons is called Histoplasmosis, a fungus, which can be fatal if not very serious.  Arizona pigeons will also cause damage to a home or buildings roof, to a car’s paint, and will litter feces in any area they are nesting.  Their feces contain enough acid to deteriorate the paint from a car.  Those same acidic feces will get under the tiles of a roof and can ruin a roof’s underlayment, which can cause a roof to leak.

While the pigeons may by interesting to bird watchers, homeowners should be proactive in removing these pests from their Arizona homes and commercial buildings promptly by calling a professional bird and wildlife management professional.