BirdNote; Pigeons and Head-bobbing

BirdNote®

Pigeons and Head-bobbing

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

(Rock Pigeon ML 69278 A. Priori)

Pigeons have an unmistakable strut when they’re walking around. They seem to bob their heads as they move, like they’re grooving to an internal tune. But what look like head bobs are actually momentary pauses of the head while they walk. A pigeon thrusts its head forward, then pauses. That pausing enables the pigeon to take a brief, steady view of its surroundings, a series of glances at an unmoving landscape.

(Rock Pigeon wing flap Xeno Canto 283442 F. Holzaapfel)

For humans, maintaining a clear, stable view of the world is automatic, thanks to tiny muscles that control eye movements. The muscles shift continuously, re-aiming our eyes as we move. If our eyes were fixed in their sockets -- like those of that pigeon -- our vision would bounce up and down with every movement, a Blair Witch, shaky-cam mess.

Pigeons — and other birds with eyes that are fixed in their sockets, like chickens, herons and cranes — all manage to see the world while they amble around. Their solution to the bounce problem? That distinctive way of walking.

[Rock Pigeon calls, ML 167023011)

Next time you notice pigeons strutting their stuff, take a moment to appreciate the way they see the world.

For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.

Support for BirdNote comes from the Cornell Lab’s Bird Academy, with online courses for people of all knowledge levels. More at AllAboutBirds.org.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler

Production Manager: Allison Wilson

Producer: Mark Bramhill

Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Rock Pigeon ML69278 A Priori, Rock Pigeon ML167023011 P Marvin

From XENO-CANTO: Rock Pigeon wing flap XC283442 F Holzaapfe

BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

© 2021 BirdNote March 2021 Narrator: Mary McCann

ID# sight-09-2021-03-22 sight-09

Resources:

http://loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/pigeon.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/2015/01/whats-birds-bob-head…

https://www.livescience.com/why-pigeons-bob-heads.html