Pigeon Babies Do Exist

BirdNote^® 
Pigeon Babies Do Exist 
Written by Frances Wood

This is BirdNote.

         [Rock Pigeons cooing]

That soft cooing sound comes from common pigeons called Rock Pigeons.

Every spring, down-covered Mallard ducklings follow their mother across a pond. Goslings graze along side their Canada Geese parents in waterfront parks. Baby chickens peck the ground soon after hatching. But why do we never see baby pigeons?

Some baby birds—like those down-covered ducks, geese, and chickens—leave their nest shortly after hatching and do a lot of growing up while following their parents around. Others, like pigeons, stay in the nest and depend on their parents to feed and protect them, well into their youth. 

When young Rock Pigeons finally leave the nest, they are full sized with adult feathers, and they look like their parents. So unless you look carefully under a city bridge, you aren’t likely to ever see a baby pigeon. 

         [Soft cooing sounds]

It’s easy to imagine, when hearing soft cooing sounds like these, why baby pigeons would rather stay in the nest. But the reason is they wait to fledge until they are nearly independent and the task of getting on with life is a bit easier. 

         [Pigeons cooing]

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

Support for BirdNote is provided by Mary Pigott from Seattle, Washington, and generous listeners around the world.

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by A.L. Priori. BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and produced by John Kessler.
© 2015 BirdNote March 2017 & June 2026
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# ROPI-02b-2017-03-18    ROPI-02b