Protecting yourself in the wild is key to your survival, so, how to pigeons protect themselves?

The main way that a pigeon will protect itself is by simply flying away. Flying away is non-confrontational and pigeon can easily reach heights that the predator cant. If a pigeon is fighting against another pigeon the birds will swat each other with their wings, peck at each other, and push and shove each other

The wild is a dangerous place for animals that can’t protect themselves. If an animal is injured, abandoned or weakened in any way then it is a sitting duck to predators. In fact, even healthy animals can be attacked by predators. The key to survival is knowing how to protect yourself. So, how to pigeons protect themselves? This article looks into it

How do pigeons protect themselves?

One of the simplest and easiest ways that pigeons protect themselves is to simply fly away. This is the escape and protection tactic that most birds use. Some may stand their ground or fluff up their feathers but pigeons simply fly off somewhere that the predator can’t reach.

In cases where pigeons are fighting each other, a pigeon will protect itself by swatting the other with its wings. If the confrontation is very serious the two will push each other, peck at each other, use their beaks to attack the other’s beak, extend their wings to show dominance or walk away.

In addition, pigeons can also warn other pigeons of dangers in the area by creating a sharp whistling like sound using their wings. The birds have special feathers on each wing that vibrate when the bird takes off. The faster the bird takes off the more alarming the sound is. The fact that the sound is made when the bird takes flight is helpful because other birds may not hear it while in flight or they may hear it too late.

How do injured pigeons protect themselves?

Unfortunately injured pigeons can’t protect themselves. In the animal kingdom, an injury can be life-threatening if the injury has punctured major organs or if the bird loses a lot of blood. Also, bites from dogs and cats can result in an infection which can be deadly.

If a pigeon is injured and feels as though it is about to die it will go somewhere secluded and dark to spend its last days. Going somewhere secluded will prevent them from getting attacked by predators. In addition, these dark and secluded places help them feel at peace. These places can include ventilation shafts, holes crevices and other openings.

In fact, in some cases, if the pigeon flock realizes that a pigeon is injured the flock may attack it themselves. The flock will peck at the injured pigeon and stomp on it until is dead, this is a survival tactic. Sick and injured pigeons draw predators to the flock.

Why are pigeons not afraid of humans?

Pigeons aren’t afraid of humans because they’re used to living with us. These birds have been living side by side with humans for ages. Humans have been using pigeons as food, ways to send messages and as pets.

These days you will see pigeons lounging in parks as though they are a piece of the furniture. In addition, because humans feed pigeons, take care of pigeons and don’t really hassle them the birds have gotten used to being around humans.  

Summary

In summary, the pigeons main and easiest way to protect themselves and keep out of harm’s way is to simply fly where the predator cannot reach. They know that they don’t stand a chance against many predators and simply avoid confrontation. If two pigeons are fighting they will lock beaks push each other, peck at each other, slap each other with their wings or simply walk away.

If a pigeon is injured it can’t protect itself. It will simply find somewhere to die in peace and go ahead and do that. This is best as the flock may just kill it if the flock realises its injured. If you’ve noticed that pigeons aren’t afraid of humans this is because they have lived with us for thousands of years and assimilated to our presence.

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other pigeon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why do pigeons eat leaves? Do pigeons attack other birds? How do pigeons find food? Why do pigeons puff up their chest? Why do pigeons poop so much? What do pigeons like to play with? Why do pigeons have red feet?