Pigeon

[bobpbx]

Wierd thing at work today. I went out the door around noon to go to lunch and right next to the sidewalk not 2 feet from the door was a dead pigeon. He was lying on his back with his head torn completely off and his breast and thorax had been munched on. All very recently and cleanly done. I left it there for the women to see.....

That evening I was leaving and had forgotten all about it. I walked out the door and a hawk on top of the pigeon took one evil eye look at me and flew off with the pigeon in his talons (yes, I'm sure it was not a bob-white this time). The hawk had a shortish tail that spread out to a fan at the bottom. It was a black tail with grey horizontal broad stripes. It was bigger than the bobwhite but not big like a red tail.

??

 

[BEHR655]

Could be a falcon.

Steve

 

[bobpbx]

Could be a falcon.

You mean like this?

http://www.1motormart.com/gallery/62ford02.jpg

 

[bobpbx]

Har, Har Matey!

Actually, I think you are right, I looked at the photos of falcons and harriers.

 

[BEHR655]

No, I was thinking Candy Apple Red.

 

[Teegate]

I was thinking more on the line of a 67 Falcon at Carranza.

Guy

 

[woodjin]

a bunch of wise guys! That is neat Bob. You say in the evening, are we talking after dark? Could it have been an owl. Could have been a coopers hawk from your description also. But what do I know, I didn't recognize the Bobwhite either.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

No Jeff, broad stark daylight. I'm sure it was not an owl. It was a "blue/grey" kind of bird.

 

[dragoncjo]

I would say it was a cooper's or a sharpie. Both birds have stripes on their tail. But the whole blue grey thing is weird. Northern harriers have owl like heads and are found around marshes and open grasslands. The key thing in identifying any hawk or falcon is what did it look like in flight(wing shape, tail shape, color, etc)

 

[uuglypher]

I would say it was a cooper's or a sharpie. Both birds have stripes on their tail. But the whole blue grey thing is weird. Northern harriers have owl like heads and are found around marshes and open grasslands. The key thing in identifying any hawk or falcon is what did it look like in flight(wing shape, tail shape, color, etc)

I agree with Chris- re: Coopers or sharpie - both, in adult plumage, can have a distinct "gun-metal blue-grey" cast to their dark feathers of the head, body and wings ... as can a mature pergrine falcon. The adult harrier/marsh hawk is usually a lighter blue-grey and invariably has a white patch on the upper surface of he base of the tail - clearly evident in flight. All four of these species are basically studies in brown in their juvenile plumage. I suppose one could also consider a grey phase gyrfalcon, but I'm not even sure that one has ever been seen in the PBs - pretty far south for one of those on the east coast - although I did see a white gyr in Ithaca NY in '64.

Nite all,
Dave

 

[ChrisNJ]

Kinda reminds me of last winter that either a hawk or an owl left a dead rabbit draped over the peak of my garage roof for a few days. It was so obvious I almost got out the ladder to get it down, luckly it was gone after about 3 days.

 

[Ben Ruset]

I have never seen a pigeon outside of a city. I see plenty of ringneck doves but never a pigeon.

 

[onehand]

we got plenty of pigeons in mt laurel, i put out bird feed on the pattio it doesn't take long for them to show up

about five years ago we were camping in Letchworth sp in up state ny. i climbed through the fence (bad me) walked over to the gorge edge for a look and sat there for a while much to my surprise a pigeon landed about fifteen feet from me and we just looked at each other
strange place for a pigeon, i looked for a band on one of his legs and did not see any
he was still there when i left, i figured he would be lucky if a bird of prey did not get him before it got to where he was going

 

[uuglypher]

I have never seen a pigeon outside of a city. I see plenty of ringneck doves but never a pigeon.

Probably ought to get out of town more, Ben ... Juuuuuust kiddin'!

The birds most call "pigeons" and see in lofts on city roof-tops are the domesticated form of the wild bird called a "rock dove" (Columba livia) which are found in many distant, remore, wilderness areas. They commonly nest in recesses and holes in cliffs out here in the northern plains and foohills of the Rockies. Nooks and crannies and ledges of tall buildings are made to order for them, hence their frequency in cities. In rural areas they commonly nest under highway bridges, and in old tock quarries and in abandoned houses, barns, and silos, and sometimes even cavities in dead trees. If you are truly observing ring-necked doves (Streptopelia rizoria), they are escapees from captivity, being native to southeast Asia. The small dove common in the northeastern US is the mourning dove.

Ciao,
Dave

 

[BEHR655]

I have never seen a pigeon outside of a city. I see plenty of ringneck doves but never a pigeon.

You know, I was commenting to someone just the other day that I don't nearly as many pigeons around my way as I used to. We still have plenty but just not as many as I remember there being. One place I did see a lot of pigeons and it seemed odd to me was in Cape May near the lighthouse. I just never associated pigeons with the sea shore. I do see them in A.C. and O.C. but they are cities.

Steve

 

[bobpbx]

I have never seen a pigeon outside of a city. I see plenty of ringneck doves but never a pigeon.

It could have been a mourning dove. But why a pigeon came to mind first is that pigeons roost in the inside of Hangar one. It gets messy in there and they hang plastic owls in the rafters to try and disrespect them. But no soap, they figure out they are fake.

 

[jokerman]

There are a lot of peregrine falcons in the urban areas of NJ and New York City. They love it there because of all the "pigeons" which seem to be one of their favorite prey. I worked at a partially abandoned military base in Bayonne a few years ago and there were a lot of peregrines there too, for the same reason...pigeon meat! Therefore, I would bet it was a peregrine just based on the prey, but these other guys have more to say about the colors you described. I just remember the peregrines are very light color with grey and white plumage. Sounds like a really cool experience to have had!