Saturday, 27 July 2013

Pigeon post

 
I am not a fan of the (town) pigeon. Devizes is full of them; fat,  lazy, and over-fed, with greedy little eyes and no manners. If you cut a Devizes pigeon, it would be liked slicing through a loaf of Mother's Pride.

But two things puzzle me. One is that every pigeon seems to be differently marked, and this isn't true of most birds. The other is their sound. The normal call goes a bit like this: "Oh, I am so cool; oh, I am so cool".  But nowadays, it seems they're too exhausted to finish the sentence, so they finish with either:  "Oh, I am so -" (abrupt halt), or sometimes just "Oh-"

This is maddening, as I keep waiting for the bit that doesn't come. Is there an explanation for this (GB??)?
Posted by at
Labels:

22 comments:

  1. Teresa Ashby27 July 2013 at 12:14

    I love pigeons! All sorts, even the town ones. I had to laugh about the Devizes pigeons being like a loaf of Mother's Pride! The wood pigeons round here say, "Give me, a kiss; give me, a kiss." The collared doves do a sort of fall/fly from the garage to the wall and say, "Waaa-aaah-eeek!" Maybe yours are too hot to bother saying much at all at the moment :-) x

    ReplyDelete
  2. rhymeswithplague27 July 2013 at 13:57

    My computer printer must be part pigeon. I swear it talks to me...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wendy's Writing27 July 2013 at 19:34

    I prefer pigeons to seagulls - one took a doughnut out of my mouth on Brighton pier!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Patsy27 July 2013 at 21:08

    I like the sound of wood pigeons (just as well where I live) but haven't taken much notice of what the town ones have to say.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frances Garrood29 July 2013 at 14:00

      Maybe they should just stay in the woods,
      Patsy...?

      Delete
  5. Tim27 July 2013 at 21:55

    Mine are collared doves, but have a similarly perverse sense of rhythm. "I AM a cuckoo, I AM a cuckoo, I -" And then they stop. As a musician, I find this quite frustrating.
    All in all, though, I prefer them to seagulls.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Graham Edwards28 July 2013 at 10:43

    So far as I am aware all or most birds vary their calls although we tend to have specific calls in our minds which are the calls with which we associate individual species. As for the variation in markings the Rock Pigeon or Rock Dove (which is the one that plagues my garden) is the pigeon from which the feral pigeon which has populated the world is defended. Even rock pigeons vary a bit but the variations in feral pigeons can be, as you pointed out, very significant indeed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frances Garrood29 July 2013 at 14:03

      Exactly the ornithological erudition I expected from you, GB. Thank you.

      Delete
  7. Maggie May28 July 2013 at 13:04

    The wood pigeons in our garden definitely speak pigeon English.

    ReplyDelete
  8. DawnTreader28 July 2013 at 14:42

    I shall have to start to pay more attention to pigeon language...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frances Garrood29 July 2013 at 14:04

      I wouldn't bother, DawnTreader. They aren't what they used to be.

      Delete
  9. myraduffy28 July 2013 at 15:29

    It's seagulls that cause a problem in this area! Some areas are plagued with them. Fortunately we only have wood pigeons...have you thought of looking for a recipe for pigeon pie?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frances Garrood29 July 2013 at 14:05

      Yes. Often. But I haven't even got a catapult.

      Delete
  10. Librarian28 July 2013 at 15:30

    The call of the common "town pigeon" will, for me, forever be associated with earliest childhood memories, playing in the sandbox my grandparents had set up for us in their garden. It was a quiet, peaceful neigbhourhood; I felt safe and happy with grandma and grandpa always nearby. Still like the sound today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frances Garrood29 July 2013 at 14:06

      I agree that it can be a nice, comfortable sound, Meike. I just wish they'd finish their phrases.

      Delete
  11. Rosemary Gemmell28 July 2013 at 15:42

    Laughed aloud at your witty post, Frances. I like the wood pigeons we see now and then but we don't have the other kind visiting where I live. Pigeons and seagulls, however, are a real problem around my daughter's town flat.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Frances Garrood29 July 2013 at 14:07

    We have seagulls too, Rosemary. What I would like to know is where urban seagulls nest? Or maybe they just don't bother.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)