Have you ever seen a baby pigeon (aka a “squab”)? And when was the last time? It’s something you might have thought about when looking at pigeons (I know I have) and I decided to look it up. The answer is pretty simple: they spend a long time in the nest (about a month) and when they leave the nest, they’re about the same size as a mature pigeon you’d see on the street or in town squares.
A month might not sound like a long time but many birds only stay in their nests for a couple of weeks1, such as songbirds. Meanwhile, birds of prey can stay for much longer. So pigeons are somewhere in the middle and the squabs mature relatively quickly and that’s why you never really see them.
More on pigeons
- Understanding the Life Cycle of a Pigeon
- Domestic Pigeons Explained: The Complete Guide
- Pigeons Do Backflips? How Genetics Makes Them Flip!
- Found: hideout of some of the last primordial pigeons
- https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-birds/bird-nesting/how-long-baby-birds-stay-nest/ ↩︎