Characteristics and Attributes:

  • Pigeons can fly at altitudes of 6000 feet or more
  • Pigeons can fly at average speeds of up to 77.6 mph but have been recorded flying at 92.5 mph
  • Pigeons can fly between 600 and 700 miles in a single day, with the longest recorded flight in the 19th century taking 55 days between Africa and England and covering 7000 miles
  • Pigeons are thought to navigate by sensing the earth’s magnetic field and using the sun for direction. Other theories include the use of roads and even low frequency seismic waves to find their way home
  • Pigeons (and all the columbidae family) drink by sucking water and using their beaks like straws. Most birds sip water and then throw their head back to swallow
  • Pigeons, like humans, can see in colour, but unlike humans they can also see ultraviolet light, a part of the spectrum that humans cannot see. As a result, pigeons are often used in search and rescue missions at sea because of this unique sense combined with excellent all-round vision
  • Pigeons have been found to pass the ‘mirror test’, the ability to recognise its own reflection in a mirror. The pigeon is one of only 6 species, and the only non-mammal, to have this ability
  • Pigeons are highly intelligent and can recognise all 26 letters of the alphabet as well as being able to conceptualise. Pigeons can differentiate between photographs and even two different human beings in a single photograph.



Dis you know ? By Dr Colin Walker

  • The average weight of a racing pigeon is 400 grams.
  • Pigeons drink on average 45ml water per day
  • Cocks have two testicles but hens have only one ovary.
  • Pigeons eat on average one- tenth of their body weight in grain daily
  • Pigeons have several kidneys on either side of  their abdominal cavity.
  • Pigeon milk is not actually milk at all but is mainly composed of superficial cells. packed with fats and other nutrients, that flake from the surface of specialized areas of the crop lining.
  • Pigeons feet resemble reptile feet because, like all birds, pigeons are direct decendants of the Dinosaurs.
  • Pluging a feather is more painful for a pigeon than cutting its skin.
  • Pigeons have special glands in their eyelids that produce a mucus that makes their tears stick to the front of the eye. This means that they can fly at the speeds they do even in hot conditions without the surface of the eyes drying.
  • Blind pigeons can still find their wat home. In experoments in which pigeons were temporarily blinded by putting black discs ocer the surface of the eyes, the birds still homed from 80 miles. It seems that vision is only necessary for the final approach to the loft.
  • A pigeons eyelashes are actually little feathers.
  • Fresh air enters a pigeon’s lungs when it both breathes in and breathes out. When a pigeons breathes in, some air goes into its lungs and some air goes into its back air sacs. When it breathes out, the air in the lungs moves into the front air sacs while the air in the back air sacs, which is still fresh, moves into the lungs. This makes for an extremely efficient respiratory system and is part of the reason why pigeons can out - exercise horses, greyhounds and men, with fit birds able to beat their wings for hours without fatigue.

  • In Pigeons, the lungs connect with the cavities of some bones, including the bones of the wings, legs, spine, and ribs. If a pigeons’ wing is broken and the broken bone sticks out through the skin, it cab breath through this if its mouth and nose are taped shut.

  • When a pigeon breathes in, the top of its windpipe moves up and almost sucks onto the slot (choana) in the roof of the mouth.

  • A pigeon's vision is very sensitive to colour and movement. When we look at the face of a watch, we can only see the second hand moving, while experiments have shown that pigeons can also detect movement of the hour hand.