baby pigeons mystery

[dsnmtk]

My fiance and I both deeply appreciate birds of all varieties, but have a nagging question regarding city pigeons. We live in a large city, and have both visited several major cities over the years, and yet we have never seen a baby pigeon. We have avidly looked for a while now and have posed the question to other bird enthusiasts, all to no avail. We would very much appreciate an answer to why we do not see baby pigeons. Thanks so much!

[Birdmom4ever]

You don't see baby pigeons because by the time they leave the nest they look pretty much like adults. Pigeons nest in nooks and crannies and on sheltered ledges, not in trees, so their nests may be hard to locate. With close observation you can learn to tell juveniles from adults. They squeak rather than coo until they are 6-8 weeks of age. They sometimes have tiny bits of yellow down on their heads. And the cere, the fleshy area over the beak, is flesh-colored rather than white in young pigeons.

[Trees Gray]

Hello and welcome to Pigeons.com

You won't see baby pigeons around because to the untrained eye they look pretty much grown up in size and feathering when they leave the nest, unless they fall out.

Here is what to look for....you may hear a squeek or peep (among the flock), if fairly young. If you can get close enough you will notice the white on top of the beak of older pigeons, the young ones don't have it yet. You might even see some yellow fuzz sticking out among the feathers on top of the young pigeons heads. The young are usually slender and their feathers are sleek and in place, unless they are bathing.

If you happen to be in crowd of pigeons feeding, you might see a young one peeping and pouting shaking its wings at mom and dad begging them for food...some of them still like a hand out after they leave the nest.

You will see the young birds fly off and dive down all of a sudden, looking like they are going to hit the ground,(but they don't)then they fly back up into the sky again, cause they are still getting used to the power in their wings.

That is what I've observed among my babies, it maybe a little different to observe among our feral friends.
Treesa

[dsnmtk]

Thanks so much Birdmom4ever and Trees Gray! You were very helpful, and I'm looking forward to telling my fiance (and impressing my city-folk friends!).