Nothing to get in a flap about

Often dismissed as ‘rats with wings’ or avian fly-tippers, few birds inspire as much hatred as pigeons. But, if we knew them a little better, we’d love them more, says Vicky Liddell

- Vicky Liddell

ON station platforms up and down the country, male feral pigeons are performing carefully choreographed dances in front of unimpressed females. In the countryside, portly wood pigeons, in morning-suit grey, are puffing out their chests and sweeping their tail feathers like mini matadors. The bubbling coos that accompany their repertoire are often considered the soundtrack of summer, but many pigeons will breed six times a year and the common ‘woody’ (Columba palumbus) has been recorded as breeding in every calendar month of the year. Among the five species of pigeons that may be seen in the country, the wood pigeon, collared dove and stock dove are the most common. The wild rock dove, from which all feral and domestic pigeons are descended, is mostly confined to north-west Scotland and the migrant turtle dove is now the fastest declining species in the UK.

The Columbidae family, which once included the extinct dodo, extends to more than 300 species, found on every continent apart from Antarctica. Their fondness for settling in cities in large numbers has inspired love and loathing in equal measure, but there is no scientific difference between the white doves of peace and ‘rats with wings’—it’s only that a smaller, daintier bird is often described as a dove.