Head into any city square and it will no doubt be filled with C of head - bobbing pigeons . But despite their strong numbers , you seldom ( if ever ) see their doll . They are like a advanced - day urban unicorn , albeit slimly less proud and a little more grubby . Fortunately , there are some uncomplicated account to this dilemma .
First of all , the pigeon you come across eating remnant pizza in the streets are most potential feral pigeons(Columba livia domestica).This subspecies of bird was earlier multiply from the untamed rock doves that roost and stock among ocean drop and rocky mountain crevasses around Europe , North Africa , and western Asia . Although this race ’ abode is now a busy metropolis instead of a rocky coastline , they still incline to nest in the high - up edges and cavities of buildings .
“ Only if you’re able to see into a nest would you be potential to see baby pigeon , ” Debra Kriensky , a preservation biologist with NYC Audubon Society , explained to IFLScience . “ By the meter they leave the nest , they are already quite large and resemble adult birds more than they do chicks . ”
It ’s also worth considering that pigeon wench fledge ( leave the nest ) within just 25 to 32 days . So , unless you overhear them in this brief menses at the top of a building , then you ’re improbable to see them .
A baby rock-and-roll dove . Cute . Kind of . John Liu / Flickr(CC BY 2.0 )
“ pigeon are born naked and take to grow feathering before they can leave the nest , ” added Martin Fowlie of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ( RSPB ) . “ They stay in their nest until they are able to fly like other nest construction species . ”
Unless you are regard the child pigeon from a window , balcony , or another elevated vantage spot , it ’s credibly not good news if you see one . It is often a preindication that something is n’t right .
“ We do see a fair amount of baby that fall out of the nest before they are big enough to vaporize and fend for themselves , ” Kriensky said . “ In those cases , chicks should be return to their nest , a improvised nest nearby if potential , or lend to a wildlife rehabilitator . ”
