ifW 



United Sti.tes Depart..;ei4t of tlie Interior 

 . Fisli £.nd ?i[iXdlii;e,.Se^"v.ice 



\:r.rci 



RD : 



LIBRA 

 i(' FEB 2 7 1245 



, S. DEPARTMEImT of AGRlCULjTURE 



Wildlife Leaflet 254 



bhicar,o %, 111. 



la^i 1944 » i 



CONTROL OF V AGR ANT DOtaSTIC PIGEONS 



Pr.ep-a-ed in EconOi.:ic V/ildlife, Invest i^,i-t ions 

 Division of VJildlife Recec-rch 



CONTENTS 



Origin of the doaestic pi^eoii . • . 1 . 



Status of the city pigeon . • . * • 2 ■ 



Suggestions for control •••••• 3 ; 



Discourat^in;-, the birds 



f roi^t rei.iaininc ••••...• 3 



Fri^hteniiio devices •....•• 3 * 



Pat,e 

 Su^i^jestions for Control — Con . , • 



Trai^piHi-, 4 



Shootin;^ .••.•••...•• 4 



Poisonin.:;^ •••«.• 4 



Gassin;:; •• ..«..* 4 



ORIGIN OF THE DOMESTIC PIGEON 



Pir.,eons siiuilar to those now livin.^- in a se..dv.'ild state in the parks and 

 streets of .toims c.nu cities hcve lon^, been closely associated v.ith nan. The 

 progenitors of these birds cai be traced tarou^^h ij^cdieval tl...eG, back to the 

 histories of early Et;:;Ptiaa ici..h"> and evei. to the reaiiVi of nftAi before the re- 

 corded v.'ord. 



Evidence presented by tlie birds tao-tselvos, in for;.., coloration, and habits of 

 even the proj.iiscuousiy interbred vir_,eons tiiat ar« no;; found in twc street^jj poiiits 

 to tne likelihood tuc-X ori^j^iiially tucse birds Ccj-'-e froi. t-ie blue rock, or coj.dr.ion 

 pi-eon (Columba livife), of Europe, Asio, ^.ad Africa. They raay have been held in 

 sei'ddonestication by early i;*an, or they rr.ay have talcen advantap:e of easier living 

 in human sui-roundin,_,s. Innumerable races, or str^-ins, of pigeons have been deve- 

 loped by selective breedin^^ and hj the perpetuation of unic.ue off -shoots froiti 

 parent stock. VJhen left to their ovjn resourcesj hov.'ever, as are the nembers of 

 the "traup'f flocks that make a living fron the city streets, the birds tend to 

 revert to a type su^^^estin.,.. the, rock pi,:eon. 



From accounts of the r^QsX flocks of pi^^eons in the public squares of the 

 cities of Europe and Asia, flocks as old as the cities theii.selves, and frox-. the 

 numbers of their counterparts in our cities, it is evide...t that tae urb^n pi^jeon 



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