The Birdman of Bel Air
for National Geographic News
The band-tailed pigeon is a big bird. Only two inches (five centimeters) longer than a mourning dove, it is three times the weight of that medium-size bird. It has a very distinctive yellow bill and yellow feet, along with, on its neck, an iridescent patch of green that is topped by a white bar.
Evidently there are fewer band-tailed pigeons than there used to be, so they need all the help they can get. In my yard in Bel Air, California, the band-tailed pigeon is a sporadic visitor. You may not see him for months. Then suddenly, for a week or so, there might be five or six of them every morning, piling onto your platform feeder and eating you out of house and home.
When five or six band-tailed pigeons land on my hanging platform feeder all at once, they are so heavy that they tend to break the string that is attached to the corners of the platform. I then have to tie a knot connecting the two pieces of broken string, but then this piece of string is shorter than the other three, so the feeder tilts at an angle from then on.
I got tired of fixing these hanging feeders, so I decided to mount the feeder platform on a tall pole from then on. Were it not for the band-tailed pigeons, these hanging feeders would have lasted indefinitely, as the only time the string broke was when the band-tailed pigeons were around.
Band-Tailed Pigeon Is an Enigma
To me, the band-tailed pigeon is an enigma. When startled, it is very skittish. Just a brief look at me will cause the band-tailed pigeon to take off with a loud flapping of wings and fly in a wide circle clear across Sullivan Canyon, only to return to my rooftop or a nearby tree after I go back inside. A few minutes later, I may see five or six of them back on that platform feeder.
But for about a week one February, a few band-tailed pigeons decided to make an extended stay in the yard. At times, when I was sitting very still behind my camera, they would walk within a foot (31 centimeters) of me, and then mosey on into the flowerbed or hop back onto the platform feeder.
I cherished these up-close moments, because I know how skittish the band-tailed pigeon is. This shows that the band-tailed pigeon is not only a friendly bird, but a smart one as well.
For a number of days in the late afternoon, I saw some interesting interactions between the band-tailed pigeons and the black-hooded parakeets that visit my yard every day. Now, as I said, the band-tailed pigeon is a big bird, and when he is sitting on the platform feeder, he takes up most of the platform. But this didn't bother the parakeets.
They flew down onto the platform feeder anyway from a nearby tree—first one, then three, then five, and finally, when the sixth black-hooded parakeet arrived, they drove the band-tailed pigeon off of the platform feeder altogether!
The band-tailed pigeon has some interesting mannerisms. After he perches on the platform feeder or a nearby pole, he likes to pull his head back and then thrust it forward, extending his neck. I think he does this in order to get a better view of the surroundings, but I've never seen any other bird do this particular thing.
I also think that the shape of the bird's beak makes him look like he's smiling half of the time, and this is particularly endearing.
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