If you live in a town or city with a large feral pigeon population then you’ve probably noticed that a relatively high proportion of them have deformed or missing legs and feet.
For years the most common theory put forward was that pigeons’ own poo was the cause. The accumulation of pigeon droppings is known to damage masonry due to the high acid content acting like a corrosive, with buildings constructed from limestone or sandstone particularly vulnerable. For example, it is well documented that the monuments in Trafalgar Square, where thousands of pigeons used to gather until measures were put in place to deter them, received extensive damage from pigeon droppings. Nelson’s Column was repaired from years of damage at a cost of £140,000.
The theory went that if pigeon poo was acidic enough to corrode buildings then it could do the same damage to their feet. With flocks of pigeons living so closely together in relatively small spaces it was inevitable that they would spend much of their time standing in their own excrement. Although this may explain why pigeons have missing toes, it doesn’t make sense that pigeon droppings would cause an entire leg to fall off.
Another idea also blamed pigeon poo. As well as their corrosive effects, pigeon droppings are full of bacteria which can cause disease. Standing in their own poo means pigeons are susceptible to catching these diseases and if an infected foot or leg develops gangrene, then part of it may fall off. But most diseases of the feet such as bumblefoot or avian pox cause deformities or tumours rather than amputation. So even if pigeons do catch diseases from standing in their own poo then it’s probably not the cause of their missing limbs.
In 2018, researchers in Paris conducted a study on 1,250 pigeons across 46 sites and came up with a new theory. The team from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation Science discovered that 20% of the pigeons they looked at were missing at least one toe. They found that pigeons were more likely to have mutilated feet in areas where air and noise pollution was high and where the human population was densest.
But they also found that if there were a large concentration of hairdressers there was a higher chance that pigeons had lost their toes. The scientists concluded that the high movement of traffic and people would transport hair strands around the city and as the pigeons walked about their legs were getting tangled in human hair as well as other materials such as plastic rubbish bag ties or bits of thread.
When the birds try to remove the hair or string with their beaks, they are unable to but in the process of trying pull it tighter around their toes or legs, restricting the blood flow, which causes the toe or the leg to fall off.
So how do pigeons get on with missing limbs? Outside of cities one-legged birds would struggle to survive as they would make easy prey for predators, but in the densely populated areas where you find large flocks of feral pigeons they have surprisingly few predators. And therefore, despite the fact that the urban environment is tough for any wild animal, pigeons with missing feet or legs are able to survive for much longer than they would elsewhere. Peregrine falcons and sparrowhawks will take pigeons as will rats and even pelicans, but feral pigeons are relatively free from the risk of being predated.
Missing legs and feet can make it harder for birds to find food sources, but living as they do so close to people, there is an abundance of food for pigeons on the streets around them from discarded takeaways to human vomit. Again, outside of cities birds with amputated limbs would find it hard to survive.
One effect a missing limb may have is on reproductive success. A male pigeon with just one leg will find it difficult to balance on the female during copulation. Pigeons with missing limbs may also find it harder to scratch and groom themselves so they can end up looking pretty scruffy, which not only makes them less attractive to potential mates, but can also affect their health as they’re unable to get rid of parasites such as ticks and feather mites.
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Paraments eating their flesh
The theory about hair and string makes sense. I took a picture of one bird struggling to disentangle its feet. Poor thing. Sad to see.
In the U.S., in San Diego County, many of our pigeons are missing feet bc of attempting to sit on razor Barbed wire that surrounds our county jails and state prison. The razors are so sharp that it just slices their feet off completely. It’s not uncommon to see them walking around on leg stumps but they are otherwise healthy.
None of these theories explain why they would have just one missing foot.
I assume the reason you only see pigeons with one missing foot is because one-footed pigeons can survive for a long time, whereas pigeons that lose both feet probably die off rather qiuckly and nobody bothers to count the feet on a dead pigeon.
Yeah there is certainly some real pigeon fighting going down in Greyhound terminal in NYC.
My son and I recently were in NYC. His best friend takes greyhound from there at least once a year and told us to look out for his one footed pigeon friend. We found the bird.
Now, keep in mind we’d taken Greyhound there, travelling overnight and had slept so we were too tired to be logical, but we quickly did figure out there’s one than one Peggy.
A few weeks later, my son and his friend are on Xbox and talking and I start to say something about there being more than one pigeon missing feet. My son freaks. I am under no circumstances to tell friend that there’s more than one.
Friend fully believes that there’s one pigeon friend who greats him every time he goes through Port Authority.
I’m sitting in the greyhound terminal in NYC right now! hahaha
There is a one footed pigeon flying around inside as I type!
Any excuse to call a pigeon dirty. Pigeons that are sent out on races often don’t return home so their owners buy more, then some of them new pigeons don’t return home so they buy more, and so on an so on, those who escape don’t want to race they just want to mate and raise young.
Pigeons are beautiful natured Birds, I have two that I took in years ago when poorly who have remained pets and are as soft as cats and dogs and love nothing better than a cuddle. I’ve looked after many over the years and they aren’t dirty birds they just don’t have toilets that flush like humans
I think they lose them not due the above theories like poo or human hair but by bird spikes.
It’s said that they don’t harm birds but surely the weight of a pigeon landing on one first time is enough cause damage,
Depending on impact.
I know you don’t see them impaled on bird spikes but they are everywhere upon city buildings and below injured pigeons too.
One of the feral pigeons that visit my back yard daily has been sitting for days with his foot tucked up, he was sitting on the bin tonight so I could get a better look, I could see it was swollen and looked like it was bent the wrong way, as I moved closer for a better inspection he took off and his foot was left on top of the bin, poor bird, it’s freezing tonight too.
Don’t know how it happened but I know there are lots of spikes on windows over the back from me. I’ll look out for him tomorrow.
Spikes and pigeon netting, I’ve seen many pigeons flying with long string caught dangling from their ankles. I had to cut/free one from my shed roof because the string got caught in the bushes and he was wrapped up tight like a Christmas wreath, there was no way he could have freed himself and he would have been eaten alive by a sparrowhawk that visits daily for weeks at a time, our main street has pigeon netting covering the roofs, that’s why they moved into my back yard. Most of these feral pigeons are young born from racing pigeons or the actual racing pigeons themselves turned feral. If anyone wants to blame anyone for pigeons blame those who race and don’t care about losing them, then buy more. I think I must live below one of the main flight paths, there must be a neon sign above my house saying ‘Soft touch lives here, every bird welcome’
Pigeons that are sent out on races often don’t return home so their owners buy more, then some of them new pigeons don’t return home so they buy more, and so on an so on, those who escape don’t want to race they just want to mate and raise young.
Pigeons are beautiful natured Birds, I have two that I took in years ago when poorly who have remained pets and are as soft as cats and dogs and love nothing better than a cuddle. I’ve looked after many over the years and they aren’t dirty birds they just don’t have toilets that flush like humans
Pigeons are rats with wings. They are not native to the US. They are originally from Europe.
Birds that get fed by humans, as pigeons in cities often are, breed more rapidly and abundantly than those who aren’t fed by humans. And may overpopulate. These densely populated birds tend to fight. And birds that fight tend to chew off eachothers feet in battle. It’s true. And anyone who has owned pet birds has seen this in action. Urban pigeons are losing their toes and feet in battle with other birds.
This is ridiculous. Pigeons don’t have any strength in their pecks, they can’t even properly bite a human.
Absolutely not, they cannot chew the feet of of other pigeons, their pecks are to soft for this to happen.. they have no teeth either, unsure where you got that information from but pigeons cant fhew other birds feet off! If anything they will slap wings and do not remove other pigeons feet.. sorry but your information is wrong! Have yiu ever felt a pigeon peck you? Their beaks are not string enough they peck quite gentle and have no teeth to chew.. X
Is it true that their feet grow back? Someone said this on Twitter today and I wan’t sure.
i don’t think so, probably not.
Salamanders and some lizards can grow back lost limbs but birds cannot