Do Pigeons Live Primarily in Urban Or Rural Areas?

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Those who deal with pigeons on a regular basis will mainly be familiar with the urban pigeon population, as those are the ones who most people will come into contact with, but there is actually a rural pigeon population too. Carrying out surveys of the bird population will usually take place on a small scale, rather than large surveys comparing urban and rural populations, so in reality, the fact is that the answer to this question will usually be an educated guess rather than a fully verified answer.



The Urban Pigeon Population

One of the most interesting facts about urban pigeons is that there are often fewer pigeons than many people will imagine, but because they tend to congregate in the areas where there are the most people. This does mean that the perception of people is that the populations of pigeons in cities is actually much higher than the truth, although it is still fair to say that most cities will have a fairly large population of these pest birds.

Pigeons In Rural Areas

The population of pigeons in rural areas is generally much less densely packed, with birds spread over a much greater area, and they generally choose areas of cliffs as their nesting areas, meaning there are pockets of populations. On the whole, the population of urban pigeons is largely considered to be significantly greater than that of the population of pigeons found in rural areas.

The Greater Population In Urban Areas

There are many people who have speculated about the amount of pigeons to be found in our cities, and one of the main reasons that is believed to be behind this is that much of the population has originated from those birds kept as pets or messenger birds. This means that they will have a natural affinity with the areas where people are located, and the species has actually adapted to scavenging from the areas around people.

Reasons Why More Pigeons Live In Urban Areas

Along with the fact that pigeons are adapting to the food sources that are found in the areas where people are most common, it is also worth noting that there are fewer birds of prey to be found in urban areas. This means that the life span of the bird is usually greater in urban areas, despite the pigeon control measures that are sometimes implemented in our cities.

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