Pigeon Population

[AndiFlatland]

Everywhere you look, there are pigeons. Even if you watch some news report from anywhere in the world, chances are, there'll be a couple of pigeons tottering around in the background, as only pigeons do. This has set me wondering if there is any estimate of the total global population of pigeons. There must be at least as many of them as there are people, I imagine - probably quite a lot more.

[wildwood]

The feral pigeons are usually found mainly in cities, because that's where they get their food. In the wild their numbers are limited to the food supply which can be very meagre.

Many people are quite fond of the feral pigeons because their kind saved thousands of human lives with their homing instinct, and feed them.

As for their global numbers, I doubt whether it would be anywhere near 7 billion... or even 1 billion.
An example is the city famous for its pigeons, New York is estimated to have 1 million pigeons compared with over 8 million humans.

[Buenchico]

There might not be as many pigeons as you think.

For example, R A Fuller, J Tratalos and K. Gaston published a study in 2009 that examined the numbers of birds in Sheffield (which has a population of roughly half a million people). While they found that there were slightly more birds than people overall (estimated at around 603,000 birds in total), the breeding population of feral pigeons was only estimated at around 12,300.

Such populations tend to congregate in very small areas (typically city centres) leading to the belief that the overall population is far greater than it actually is. (e.g. if you're in Fargate, in the centre of Sheffield, you'll probably see lots of pigeons but if you go out to the suburbs, which cover a far greater area, you'll be unlikely to see any).

[Jackdaw33]

Where there's a Greggs, there you'll find pigeons.

[Canary42]

////A more interesting question might be..... why does the average town Pigeon have 1.5 legs and why do you NEVER see a dead one.////

Pigeons legs often damaged by discarded litter, disease, too-tight rings, etc.

Dead ones which aren't flattened to nothing on the roads are soon taken by rats or foxes.

[Canary42]

... or even by magpies.

[trt]

## and why do you NEVER see a dead one. ##

Or baby ones?

[janbee]

We just get a gazillion seagulls but then, I do live right on the coast so I suppose they have every reason to be here. They do nest in the chimney stacks on all the local houses. Many houses now have had their chimney pots removed and others have a cage built over them to stop them from nesting. They are SOOOOO noisy day and night.
Not quite so many feral pigeons but I do see a couple of wood pigeons every year. Don't know their life span so it may or may not be the same pair every year. They suddenly appear with a baby, which is exactly the same size etc as the parents. They're big clunky chunky birds. I love watching them. I always put seeds out for them but the local cats and foxes get wellied into that first. I 've tried putting the seeds into a hanging holder and it's funny to watch the Woodies try to get into that. Elegant they ain't!!

[Svejk]

This might interest you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon

[RATTER15]

We rarely see them in the towns and villages where I have lived.

[Chipchopper]

Going off at a slight tangent from the mane thread, the wood pigeons that was a common sight in my garden and surrounding area, have now become conspicuous by their absence over the last several weeks.
This seems to me to coincide with a buzzard that I've seen hunting in the local vicinity.
The only trace of the dead wood pigeons that I usually see are, a mass of breast feathers, which are soon scattered by the winds and lost among the undergrowth.
Its my guess that the buzzard will move on pastures new once his larder becomes less full.