Collared pigeon also in villages: City pigeons get support from their relatives

In addition to city pigeons, other types of pigeons are increasingly feeling at home in Hessian villages and towns.

This is particularly true of the wood pigeon, as wildlife expert Johannes Lang from the Justus Liebig University in Giessen said.

The formerly shy forest bird has made the leap into the settlements in recent years.

"And the collared pigeon has also found its way into towns and villages," said Lang.

In addition to the city pigeons, which originally descended from the rock pigeons, there are four types of pigeons in Hesse.

These are wood pigeons, Turk's pigeons, stock pigeons and turtle doves.

Among them, the turtle dove is the “big problem child”, as Lang says.

The stock has declined dramatically.

One possible reason is that these birds are intensively hunted in southern Europe during their migration to Africa.

5890 wood pigeons shot in Hesse

The wood pigeon, on the other hand, is doing "very well," said Lang.

Their spread in settlements could have something to do with the fact that there are fewer predators such as hawks or peregrine falcons, as the expert explained.

However, peregrine falcons, for example, are also increasingly settling in cities.

According to data from the State Hunting Association, more than 5,890 wood pigeons were shot in Hesse in the 2020/2021 hunting year, compared to just under 25,000 in the early 1990s.

The animals are often killed at the request of farmers, for example, because wood pigeons like to pick up soybean or sunflower seeds in fields, said biologist Nadine Stöveken from the state hunting association in Bad Nauheim.

The meat can be used well, for example for a delicious soup.

The population of collared pigeons is now on the up again after a slump in the 1990s, said wildlife biologist Lang.

This species is not endangered, but he advocated stopping hunting for a while.

Wood pigeons and collared pigeons are the only two basically huntable pigeon species in Hesse.

Endangered Turtle Dove

The chairman of the Hessian Society for Ornithology and Nature Conservation (HGON), Tobias Reiners, reported on "strong" slumps in the population of collared pigeons in recent years.

Since the species feeds on seeds and wild herbs, among other things, it has suffered particularly from the intensification of agriculture.

The "problem child" turtle dove is threatened with extinction in Hesse, Reiners warned.

The species needs a place between the forest and open land to breed, as well as sufficient water points to raise the chicks.

In the case of severe drought, this could become a problem, said Reiners.

The conservationists supported the turtledoves by ensuring that wild herb fields are as close as possible to the breeding sites when there are confirmed occurrences.

There is good data on the wild pigeon species through extensive monitoring, but not on the city pigeons, which are not wild animals, as Reiners explained.

He advocated treating these birds with respect and not denying their right to exist.

It is surprising "how much negative energy" is projected onto street pigeons.

They didn't harm anyone and just made a little mess, Reiners said, pointing out that the biggest cause of garbage and pollution is humans.

"We should give the pigeons a place," said Reiners.

This could also be, for example, urban pigeon lofts where the eggs are removed to regulate the population.

It could not be a solution to fight the city pigeons.