46 



Handbook of Nature-Study 



The natural food of pigeons is grain; we feed them cracked 

 corn, wheat, peas, Kafir corn, millet and occasionally hemp seed; it 



is best to feed mixed rations 

 as the birds tire of the 

 monotonous diet. Pigeons 

 should be fed twice a day; 

 the pigeon is the only bird 

 which can drink like a 

 horse, that is, with the 

 head lowered. The walk 

 of a pigeon is accom- 

 panied by a peculiar nod- 

 ding as if the head were in 

 some way attached to the 

 feet, and this movement 

 sends waves of iridescent 

 colors over the bird's 

 plumage. The flight of the 

 pigeon is direct without 

 soaring, the wings move 

 rapidly and steadily, the 

 birds circling and sailing as 

 "Game Leg" a homer pigeon of notable achievement they start or alight. The 

 (Courtesy of Country Life in America.) CrOW flaps hard and then 



sails for a distance when 

 it is inspecting the ground, while the hawk soars on motionless 

 wings. It requires closer attention to understand the language of the 

 pigeon than that of the hen, nor has it so wide a range of expression as 

 the latter; however, some emotions are voiced in the cooing, v/hich the 

 children will understand. 



The nest is built of grass and twigs; the mother pigeon lays two eggs 

 for a sitting; but in some breeds a pair will raise from seven to twelve 

 broods per year. The eggs hatch in from sixteen to eighteen days, and 

 both parents share the labors of incubating. In the case of the homer 

 the father bird sits from lo a. m. to 4 p. m. and the mother the remainder 

 of the day and night. The devotion of pigeons to their mates and to their 

 young is great, and has been sung by the poets and praised by the philoso- 

 phers during many ages ; some breeds mate for life. The young pigeons 

 or squabs are fed in a peculiar manner; in the crops of both parents is 

 secreted a cheesy substance, known as pigeon milk. The parent seizes 

 the beak of the squab in its own and pumps the food from its own crop 

 into the stomach of the young. This nutritious food is given to the squalD 

 for about five days and then replaced by grain which is softened in the 

 parents' stomachs, until the squabs are old enough to feed themselves. 

 Rats, mice, weasels, and hawks are the chief enemies of the pigeons; 

 since pigeons cannot fight, their only safety lies in flight. 



As the original Rock pigeon built in caves, our domesticated varieties 

 naturally build in the houses we provide for them. A pigeon house 

 should not be built for more than fifty pairs ; it should be well ventilated 

 and kept clean; it should face the south or east and be near a shallow, 

 running stream if possible. The nest boxes should be twelve inches 

 square and nine inches in height with a door at one side, so 



