Expressway Pigeons

     While driving along expressways in the eastern United States, I noticed several times that little flocks of rock pigeons were perched on wires, like musical notes on sheets of music, above bridges along those highways.  Those pigeons live and raise young on support beams under those bridges where they are safe from the elements and most predators.  Only crows might be able to eat the eggs or small young of the pigeons under those protecting bridges.
     Rock pigeons are originally from the Mediterranian Sea area where they traditionally roost and nest on the rocky cliffs, safe from most predators, except peregrine falcons and other kinds of raptors.  Pigeons' feathers are mostly sooty-gray, which blends them into the color of those rocky cliffs and conceals them from predator eyes.  But they also have lighter gray on their wings, a purple and green sheen on their necks and red legs.   
     These beautiful birds were long ago domesticated for meat, eggs and sport by Europeans  and were taken everywhere on Earth by those peoples.  Many pigeons became feral and now live wild in cities and farmland throughout much of the world, including here in North America.
     Pigeons live year around in cities, and rear two offspring per brood on ledges of tall buildings during warmer months.  There they are safe from predators, except crows and certain raptors, particularly peregrine falcons.  City pigeons ingest weed seeds from vacant lots, grain from bird feeders and a variety of edibles, including peanuts and popcorn, fed to them by kindly people.
     In farmland, pigeons perch during the day on top of certain silos, which are the tallest structures on a farm, but live permanently in some barns and raise young there during warmer months.  Incidentally, each pair of rock pigeons, whatever habitat they live in, stay together for life, and produce two young a month, during warmer months in temperate climates.  And in farmland, pigeons feast on weed seeds, and grain missed by automatic harvesters in grain fields, including wheat and corn fields.  Pigeons in North America, as almost everywhere else on Earth, are totally dependent on human activities to survive.  
     Noticing rock pigeons perched in scattered rows on wires over bridges along expressways is a new, and interesting, revelation for me.  Those adaptable birds found another habitat to live and nest in, which helps increase their numbers.     
     Rock pigeons, like all species of pigeons and doves, worldwide, raise two staggered broods of young at once during warmer months.  When the first brood of offspring of a year is half-grown, the female of each pair lays two eggs in another cradle.  Both the male and female of each pair take turns brooding the second clutch of eggs and feeding the first brood until they fledge their nursery.  The second brood hatches about when the first brood leaves its nursery.  When the second brood is half-grown, the female of each pair lays two eggs in the first nursery.  The pair shares feeding and brooding responsibilities.  In this way, each pair of pigeons and doves raises an average of two young per month, IF their flimsy nests aren't blown off their supports, and if the young aren't eaten by crows, jays, raccoons, black rat snakes and other kinds of predators.
    Rock pigeons, and all pigeon and dove species, feed their young "pigeon's milk" which is a regurgitated mixture of pre-digested seeds and throat phlegm pumped into each youngster's throat.
     Pigeons have come a long way from their Mediterranean Sea cliffs.  Their adapting to human-made structures and farming activities has increased their numbers greatly, making them a successful species.  And their nesting under expressway bridges with all that unending traffic noise is a real adjustment for survival.  Life, in general, finds ways to survive.