NParks investigating incident in which blow darts were used on pigeons

PUBLISHED MAR 3, 2020, 6:30 PM SGT

Clement Yong

SINGAPORE - The National Parks Board's Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) is looking into an incident in which blow darts were allegedly used on two pigeons, and urged the public to help with investigations by sharing any relevant photo or video evidence with it.

The suspected case of bird cruelty was first reported by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) in a Facebook post on Monday (March 2), after the animal welfare group received a report from a member of the public at Block 864 Jurong West Street 81.

The caller had rescued a pigeon with a dart on its body, Acres said. Its officers at the scene also found a pigeon that had two darts on its body, but it flew away before they could attend to the bird.

Acres said that it was an "act of cruelty and violence to put the innocent birds through pain and suffering" and added that the possession of the blow darts and similar items or their sale online "should be strictly regulated considering the pain they can cause to any animal or human" if used on them.

Under the law, blow pipes are, as with Swiss Army knives and fencing swords, permissible items that do not require a licence or permit to import, export or own.

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Dog and sheep bones help injured pigeons fly again

Date: November 20, 2019

Source: Cell Press

Sheep and dog bones can be whittled into orthopedic pins that stabilize pigeons' fractured wings, helping the fractures to heal properly without follow-up surgery. Researchers describe the treatment, which is cheaper and more efficient than using metal pins for pigeon rehabilitative surgeries, November 20th in the journal Heliyon.

"There is no need for the implants to be removed because they will ultimately be absorbed by the body," says first author Saifullah Dehghani Nazhvani, of the Shiraz University School of Veterinary Medicine's department of surgery in Iran. "Therefore, the implants can be used for wild birds, such as eagles, owls, and seagulls."

Nazhvani works at a veterinary clinic at Shiraz University, where they frequently see wild and companion birds suffering from fractures in their wings or legs. They typically use metal pins, which is standard for these types of procedures, but they noticed imbalance in the flight, take off, or landings after fracture repair. Therefore, they wanted a technique to use lightweight pins that they did not need to remove.

Nazhvani's team thought bones could be the answer. They sanded and processed sheep and dog bones, obtained from animals that had previously died, into pins small enough to be inserted into a pigeon's humeral bones -- the wing bone closest to a bird's body. After 32 weeks of observation, pigeons with sheep or dog bone orthopedic pins were able to fly as well as before the operation.

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Hair-raising truth behind pigeons' lost toes

NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Pigeons are often viewed as vermin but could play a role in understanding urban wildlife

Next time you visit your hairdresser spare a thought for the pigeons.

For a long time scientists thought the fact that pigeons in urban environments often lost their toes was due to some form of infection, or was a reaction to chemical pollutants.

But now researchers in France believe they've stumbled upon the real culprit: human hair.

The team from the National Museum of Natural History and the University of Lyon recorded the occurrence and extent of toe mutilations from pigeons eking out their time in 46 sites across Paris.

The found that human pollution likely played a part in nearly all cases of missing toes—pigeons living in areas with higher rates of air and noise pollution tended to have fewer digits than those that lived in leafier environs.

Perhaps most strikingly, the team noticed that toe mutilation "tended to increase with the density of hairdressers"—meaning the poor birds often lose their extremities by getting them entangled in human hair.

The team suggested that more green spaces might benefit the population of birds seen by many city-dwellers as pests.

But they do in fact serve a worthy purpose for science.

"Measuring the impacts of urban pollution on biodiversity is important to identify potential adaptations and mitigations needed for preserving wildlife even in city centres," the team wrote.

The study was published in the journal Biological Conservation.

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Why Do Pigeons Bob Their Heads?

By Emma Bryce - Live Science Contributor

Are they really wagging their heads up and down? Look a little closer …

In 1978, a group of researchers in a laboratory at Queen's University in Canada clustered around a plexiglass box enclosing a treadmill … with a pigeon walking on it. The purpose behind this comical scene was to try and answer an age-old question: Why do pigeons bob their heads?

Head-bobbing is as much a feature of pigeons' identity as is their tendency to swarm us at the slightest suggestion that we might be harboring a snack. Bopping their heads as they stalk about pecking the ground for crumbs, these birds seem to be grooving to some secret beat, as if they're all attending a silent disco in the town square. 

But what's the real purpose behind this seemingly ridiculous motion?

The 1978 treadmill experiment gave us the first crucial insights into that question. And the study overturned one major assumption in the process: Pigeons aren't actually bobbing their heads. Instead, they're pushing them forward. 

When the researchers in that study reviewed slow-motion footage, they found that there were actually two main parts to a pigeon's head movement, which the scientists called a "thrust" and a "hold" phase. 

"In the 'thrust' phase, the head is pushed forward, relative to the body by about 5 centimeters [2 inches]," explained Michael Land, a biologist at Sussex University in the United Kingdom who has studied eye movements in animals and humans. "This is followed by a 'hold' phase, during which the head is kept still in space, which means that it moves backwards relative to the forward-moving body."

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Lahore’s pigeons are vanishing in plain sight

Areeba Rasheed

June 23, 2019

People urge wildlife dept to save them 

The number of wild pigeons in Lahore, which were once spotted hovering over buildings, is slowly and steadily declining.  

The birds frequently flock near Istanbul Chowk, Data Darbar, Mall Road, Jain Temple, and Shahi Qila, where many people feed them too.

"I love these birds, but I have noticed that their number is decreasing by the day," said a resident. "The wildlife department should do something about it."

Naeem Bhatti, who is the deputy director of the wildlife department, remarked that the birds have been disappearing because of fatal diseases. "One of the most common diseases that affect them is the Newcastle Disease," he said. The Newcastle disease is a contagious viral bird disease that affects many wild and domestic birds and it can even be transmitted to humans.

"To stop the spread of the disease, the birds can be given vaccines and antibiotics," he explained. "Administering them vaccines will protect them from lethal diseases."

More than 40% of bird species across the globe are in decline, according to the 2018 State of the World’s Birds. The report says that 1,469 bird species globally are threatened with extinction.

It identified agricultural expansion and intensification, deforestation, and hunting as the biggest threats to the population of birds. “The threats driving the extinction crisis are many and varied, but invariably of humanity’s making…and most species are impacted by multiple, interrelated threats,” it says.

Source

The fellowship of the wing: Pigeons flap faster to fly together

Date:  June 18, 2019

Source:  PLOS

New research publishing June 18 in the open-access journal, PLOS Biology, led by Dr Lucy Taylor from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology now reveals that homing pigeons fit in one extra wingbeat per second when flying in pairs compared to flying solo.

Birds that fly in 'V'-formations, such as geese, are able to conserve energy by flying in aerodynamically optimal positions. By contrast, in species that don't fly in formation, such as homing pigeons, the costs and benefits of flocking have been less well understood.

The research indicates that flying with another bird requires more energy compared to flying solo. 'The results of this study were completely unexpected. Energy is the currency of life so it's astonishing that the birds are prepared to pay a substantial energetic cost to fly together," said lead-author, Dr Lucy Taylor.

The team used high frequency GPS and accelerometer bio-loggers to measure how pigeons changed their wingbeat patterns when flying in pairs compared to flying solo. The accelerometers act much like fitness trackers but, instead of measuring steps, the researchers measure wingbeats. 'The increase in wingbeat frequency is equivalent to Usain Bolt running the 100m sprint at his usual speed, whilst fitting in nearly one extra step per second. The pigeons are flapping faster when flying in pairs but hardly going any faster," said Dr Taylor.

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Cadw accused of shooting dozens of pigeons at Caerphilly Castle

Carol Gravener, who runs Caerphilly Bird Rescue with her husband, claims seven of her rescue birds were killed

Bronte Howard

20:24, 15 MAY 2019

UPDATED20:36, 15 MAY 2019

The organisation which looks after some of Wales' most historic buildings has been accused of shooting dozens of pigeons at Caerphilly Castle.

Cadw, which is the Welsh Government's historic environment service, has been accused of shooting the birds, including rescue pigeons, at Caerphilly Castle on Tuesday.

The culling is alleged to have happened at around 6pm in the castle grounds and has led to widespread anger on social media.

Cadw said it is investigating the allegations but has not commented further.

A spokesperson said: "We take this matter very seriously and are investigating.”

Carol Gravener, who runs Caerphilly Bird Rescue with her husband Ray, believes that seven of her rescue pigeons were among the 60 birds she claims were killed at the castle.

She said: "This has upset me a lot and I'm very angry that whoever did this thinks it's acceptable.

"Seven of my pigeons didn't come home last night.

"They live at the centre until they're well enough to take off on their own. Sometimes they go out and don't come back but normally they will be back in by the evening, especially when it's nesting season.

"Two of the pigeons have nests here and now their chicks don't have a parent. I'm going to have to incubate the eggs and raise them myself.

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New Zealand birds: Christmas decorations tied around sparrows

Dozens of birds have been found dead or injured in New Zealand with Christmas decorations tied around their necks and wings.

Sparrows and pigeons have been reported with "decorative trinkets" tied to them in Wellington.

Some of them died of starvation as they are unable to fly and find food, according to the SPCA.

Although there have been similar incidents since 2015, there has been a spike in sightings in recent weeks.

Authorities believe the birds are being deliberately "decorated" as the tinsel and bows are tightly and carefully attached, the New Zealand Herald reported.

"Many try to pry the foreign objects off their bodies with their beaks and feet, becoming further entangled and preventing them from eating, drinking and flying. With others, the decorations are wrapped so tightly it completely cuts off their blood circulation.

"Those that do survive and arrive at our centre are always in a very bad state, and are so malnourished and distressed that we have had to humanely euthanise them," SPCA spokesperson Paige Janssen said in an email to the BBC.

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Bogota implores tourists to stop feeding pigeons

October 10, 2018 by Manuel Rueda

On a bright Sunday afternoon, a group of government workers walked around Bogota's most famous square dressed as pigeons, with cardboard beaks covering their noses, as thousands of real birds swarmed overhead and left their droppings on stately monuments.

Flapping their plastic wings and performing brief skits, they urged curious pedestrians not to feed the large flocks that descend each day onto Plaza Bolivar, a grand colonial era square flanked by a Roman Catholic cathedral and Colombia's elegant congressional building.

"There are too many pigeons here," said Mauricio Cano, a biologist who led the group of bird impersonators. "Feeding them is bad for people, and for the birds."

While London has tried to scare unruly pigeons away from train stations by deploying menacing hawks, and Paris has employed contraceptive methods to limit flock sizes, Bogota's government is trying to fight pigeon overpopulation through educational campaigns that urge people not to feed them.

Officials believe that if people stop nourishing the birds, they will stop concentrating in public squares where their droppings sully historical buildings and put people's health at risk. If the birds, which aren't native to Colombia, don't gather in large numbers their rate of reproduction is also likely to decrease.

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Variations of a single gene drive diverse pigeon feather patterns

The gene has unexpected links to vision defects in humans

Date:  July 17, 2018

Source:  University of Utah

Summary:

Biologists have discovered that different versions of a single gene, called NDP (Norrie Disease Protein), have unexpected links between color patterns in pigeons, and vision defects in humans. These gene variations were likely bred into pigeons by humans from a different pigeon species and are now evolutionarily advantageous in wild populations of feral pigeons living in urban environments.

In a new study, a team led by University of Utah biologists has discovered that different versions of a single gene, called NDP (Norrie Disease Protein), have unexpected links between color patterns in pigeons, and vision defects in humans. These gene variations were likely bred into pigeons by humans from a different pigeon species and are now evolutionarily advantageous in wild populations of feral pigeons living in urban environments.

The U biologists analyzed the genomes of domestic rock pigeons (Columba livia) to determine the mutations that govern the four fundamental color patterns on pigeon wing feathers. They compared the default, ancestral "bar" pattern, named for the horizontal black stripes near the wing tips, against the slightly darker "checker" pattern, the darkest "T-check" pattern, and the lightest "barless" pattern.

They found that a DNA sequence near the NDP gene was very different between bar birds and both T-check and checker birds. In addition, some of the T-check and checker pigeons have more copies of a stretch of DNA near the gene, resulting in even more pigment in their feathers. In all cases, the gene sequence itself is unaltered. In contrast, the least pigmented barless birds had a mutation in the gene sequence itself, which could affect its function.

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Is it a bird? Yes – 1,500 of them!

They swoop, they soar, they light up the sky … meet the pigeon-fancier who has trained his flock to wear LEDs and perform a hypnotic night dance

Jon Day

Tue 19 Jun 2018 06.00 BSTLast modified on Tue 19 Jun 2018 10.57 BST

You can see them in the sky long before you get close, circling high above, wheeling and diving between each other, their wings flashing in the sunshine and making a faintly mechanical whirr each time they pass overhead. This vast flock of pigeons, flying over a disused golf course next to a sewage works on the eastern edge of London, has been assembled by Duke Riley, an American artist who has now spent months training these birds to re-enact a show that caused a storm when it hit the night skies over Brooklyn in 2016.

Though genetically similar to feral pigeons, these birds are specialist varieties that were selectively bred over thousands of years for their endurance and acrobatic abilities. “Most are tipplers and rollers,” says Riley. He’s a compact man with blue eyes, a square jaw and hands that look as though they are used to making things. “These are the birds people fly in New York, but they’re all English breeds originally.” There’s something knowingly old-fashioned about Riley. He wears overalls with the word “Duke” embroidered on the pocket and speaks in a hard Boston lilt.

In Europe, most fanciers, as pigeon-keepers are called, are interested in racing: they take their birds away from their lofts and time how long it takes them to fly back. But in the rest of the world, it’s more of a spectator sport. Fanciers will breed a flock (or “kit”) of birds, then train them using flags and whistles to fly tightly together over their loft. In competition, points are awarded for style and time in the air, or for attracting your opponents’ birds into your flock.

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Pigeons can discriminate both space, time

Finding underscores that animals beyond humans and primates show abstract intelligence

Date:  December 4, 2017

Source:  University of Iowa

Pigeons aren't so bird-brained after all.

New research at the University of Iowa shows that pigeons can discriminate the abstract concepts of space and time -- and seem to use a different region of the brain than humans and primates to do so. In experiments, pigeons were shown on a computer screen a static horizontal line and had to judge its length or the amount of time it was visible to them. Pigeons judged longer lines to also have longer duration and judged lines longer in duration to also be longer in length.

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There’s no place like home, pigeons show their human families

By LISA SPEAR

Staff Writer

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Throughout history, pigeons, bred by humans to live on rooftops or backyard lofts, have flown hundreds of miles to find their way home.

People have raised pigeons to race them, like thoroughbreds, paying thousands of dollars for a bird. Some say these creatures are able to use the Earth’s gravitational pull to find their way back to where they belong. Others say they use the direction of the sun or the smell of the air to navigate.

Whatever the reason for their keen sense of direction, pigeons have formed a strong bond with the humans who keep them, and in some cases have become part of the family.

“They are actually very loving,” says Heather Truelove, who lives in Belchertown with her twin 11-year-old daughters and their 11 pigeons.

“You think of pigeons as being sky rats in cities, but they are very responsive and they seem to enjoy being touched and talked to.”

As she talks she is cradling one of her birds, who lives in a 7-foot high by 3-foot wide loft in the backyard. The pigeon looks as if it is roosting on her stomach as she leans back, relaxing on her back porch, stroking the bird’s back feathers. If properly cared for, this pigeon will live well into its teen years. 

One of her daughters, Skylar Park, is curled up next to her in a hammock chair with the hood of her sweater pulled over her head. A pigeon is inside snuggled next to her cheek. A third bird is loitering on her sister Kaitlyn Park’s shoulder.

 “They are soft and cuddly,” Skylar says.

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Paris declares war on pigeons

By Tamar Lapin

October 3, 2017 | 3:25pm

French authorities are enlisting five birds of prey to scare off pesky pigeons in the City of Lights this weekend — a new scheme that’s ruffling the feathers of thousands of Parisians.

Rémi Féraud, mayor of the trendy 10th arrondissement, plans to bring in two hawks and three falcons for 10 days starting October 7 to scare the pests, according to The Local France.

“Paris pigeons are not used to birds of prey,” a spokesperson for the town hall said. “We tried traditional methods and now we are doing something more radical.”

The plan is for the birds of prey to fly over where pigeons gather around Rue du Buisson Saint-Louis and scare them into moving.

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Pigeons better at multitasking than humans: study

September 26, 2017

The density of nerve cells in the human cerebral cortex is six times smaller than in the respective brain region in pigeons. Consequently, the average distance between two neurons in pigeons is only approximately half the size compared to …more

Pigeons are capable of switching between two tasks as quickly as humans – and even more quickly in certain situations. These are the findings of biopsychologists who had performed the same behavioural experiments to test birds and humans. The authors hypothesize that the cause of the slight multitasking advantage in birds is their higher neuronal density.

Dr Sara Letzner and Prof Dr Dr h. c. Onur Güntürkün from Ruhr-Universität Bochum published the results in the journal Current Biology in collaboration with Prof Dr Christian Beste from the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at Technische Universität Dresden.

"For a long time, scientists used to believe the mammalian cerebral cortex to be the anatomical cause of cognitive ability; it is made up of six cortical layers," says Sara Letzner. In birds, however, such a structure does not exist. "That means the structure of the mammalian cortex cannot be decisive for complex cognitive functions such as multitasking," continues Letzner.

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Rare albino pigeons are sighted in Minnetonka

By JIM WILLIAMS , CONTRIBUTING WRITER 

August 22, 2017 - 3:04 PM

Wedding doves were my first thought. Never thought of albino pigeons.

You know wedding doves — those white birds sold for symbolic release as part of a nuptial celebration. (Except, that’s not how it works.)

Anyway, I spotted three white birds in a tree in Minnetonka while I was driving west on I-394. Exact ID at 65 mph is above my pay grade. Turns out two of them were albino pigeons, the third possibly leucistic.

Albino birds are very uncommon. More often seen are leucistic birds, which have random white markings, sometimes a spot or two, and are sometimes almost white.#

Albino birds have white plumage, period. Feet, legs, bills and eyes are pink. Albinos completely lack melanin, the color ingredient.

I stopped at the Wild Birds Unlimited store in the shopping center at I-394 and County Road 73 (Hopkins Crossroad), the pigeon corner. Pigeons come to its front-door feeder.

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City's drug problem sees birds 'making nests out of needles'

Adam Boult

4 May 2017 • 11:04am

A viral photo tweeted by a high ranking police officer in Vancouver purports to show a pigeon's nest made entirely from used hypodermic needles.

The image was shared on Twitter by Superintendent Michelle Davey of Vancouver Police, who said that pigeons had been spotted making a nest out of needles in a single room occupancy (a form of low-cost housing) in the Downtown Eastside area of the city.

Supt. Michelle Davey

She described the image as reflecting the "sad reality of the opioid crisis", and added the hashtag #notstaged, indicating she believed the image had not been faked in any way.

Staff Sergeant Randy Fincham said the image “was captured by our Homeless Outreach Coordinator during an inspection of a vacant room."

Vancouver is experiencing an epidemic in the use of fentanyl, an analgesic estimated to be up to 100 times stronger than morphine.

In December nine people died from fentanyl opioid overdoses across the city in one 24 hour period. Two milligrams of pure fentanyl - the size of about four grains of salt - is enough to kill an average-size adult.

Mayor Gregor Robertson, addressing the overdose crisis, said: "It's desperate times in Vancouver and it's hard to see any silver lining right now when we haven't hit rock bottom."

As the "bird's nest" image started to go viral the fact-checking site Snopes commented: "The authenticity of the 'pigeon’s nest' photograph is still uncertain, and we are one of many news outlets who have sent requests to Superintendent Davey seeking more information about it.

"We don’t yet know if or how it was determined that a pigeon had in fact constructed and used the pile of needles as a nest."


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Council bill for ridding the streets of pigeons and gulls doubles to £1million in just three years

Biggest bird control spender was Southwark, spending £393,000 since 2013

Amount spent by councils rose from £452,000 in 2014 to £830,000 last year

Bird control methods include pigeon-proofing buildings to using marksmen

Spending also covered clearing up pigeon guano and removing dead ones 

By Jim Norton for the Daily Mail

Published: 00:05, 18 February 2017 | Updated: 00:29, 18 February 2017

Council spending on ridding the streets of pigeons and gulls has doubled to almost £1million over the past three years.

The biggest spender on bird control was the London Borough of Southwark, which has shelled out £393,000 since 2013.

The amount spent by English councils on bird control surged from £452,000 in 2014 to £830,000 last year, statistics obtained through Freedom of Information requests show.

The bird control methods used ranged from pigeon-proofing buildings to employing marksmen or hawks to kill the pests. The spending also covered clearing up pigeon guano and removing dead ones.

The British Pest Control Association suggested the increase could be due to the growing awareness of public health risks associated with the birds.

But they added that some methods, such as pigeon-proofing, simply moved problems on to another building or area.

The figures come two years after then Prime Minister David Cameron called for a 'big conversation' about seagulls following attacks on a dog and a tortoise in Cornwall.

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