Feral pigeon
[3] The domestic pigeon was originally bred from the wild rock dove, which naturally inhabits sea-cliffs and mountains.
Feral pigeons find the ledges of buildings to be a substitute for sea cliffs, have become adapted to urban life, and are abundant in towns and cities throughout much of the world.
The blue-barred pattern which the original wild rock dove displays is generally less common in more urban areas.
[13] The avoidance of mating between related individuals is ordinarily regarded as adaptive since it decreases the likelihood of inbreeding depression in progeny that can be caused by the expression of deleterious recessive alleles.
[14] However in feral pigeons it was found that despite detectable inbreeding depression, pairwise relatedness between mates was significantly greater than it was between nonmates.
[14] This suggests that mating with close kin provides inclusive fitness benefits that outweigh the costs of inbreeding depression.
[18] Despite this, feral pigeons usually reach their highest densities in the central portions of cities, so they are frequently encountered by people, which may lead to conflict.
Feral pigeons are widely considered pests, and can be reservoirs and vectors of some human and livestock diseases, such as salmonellosis and tuberculosis.
[12] Peregrine falcons, which are also originally cliff dwellers, have too adapted to the skyscrapers of large cities and often feed exclusively on rock doves.
[24][25][26] In London, the population of great white pelicans at St. James's Park has also been recorded killing and consuming pigeons even when alternative food sources are available.
[27][28] In cities in Western Europe, European herring gulls may occasionally hunt and consume feral pigeons in addition to other birds and small mammals.
[33] Long-term reduction of feral pigeon populations can be achieved by restricting food supply, which in turn involves legislation and litter (garbage) control.
In 1998, in response to conservation groups and the public interest, the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC), a USDA/APHIS laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado, started work on nicarbazin, a promising compound for avian contraception.
80224-1), "OvoControl P", brand of nicarbazin, is increasingly used in urban areas and industrial sites to control pigeon populations.
Declared safe and humane, the new technology is environmentally benign[36] and does not represent a secondary toxicity hazard to raptors or scavengers.
