Hi, I have a Woodpigeon thats been coming to my garden and feeding from the berries on my ivy, but over the last couple of days he has taken to eating the suet pellets that I put out, I know they store seeds in there crop, is he likely to store suet pellets there and if so would it do him any harm.
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
Hi BBB, I don't actually know the answer for certain but mine have been eating them for over a year and don't seem to have any problem with them. They also pick up seeds and whatever else they fancy from the tables - which seems to be just about everything on there!
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Pigeons are opportunistic feeders and will eat a wide range of foods - while they mostly eat 'vegetarian', such as grain, seeds, leaves and buds etc they will turn to other foodstuffs, particularly in bad weather. They'll eat insects and even peck at carrion if need be. The suet pellets won't be doing them any harm at all, quite the opposite in fact - they're packed full of energy and will help the birds to keep warm - pigeons are pretty remarkable in that they can fill their crops with loads of food and digest it later, when there may not be so much food about.
Thats why sometimes it seems as if they are just 'shovellling' food in and may stay at feeding stations for longer periods than other birds. They can then fly off to a roost for the night with a crop-full of food which they can slowly and gradually allow down to their stomach (or gizzard) for digestion over a period of time. A very handy tactic for survival when food supply may be sporadic.
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Thanks ever so much Squirrel and LRB, I was worried that fat in the crop may cause problems, me being daft again, I shall now relax and let him tuck in then.
Its understandable though Bishy, I can see where you're coming from - if it melted or got stuck or anything.
Woodpigeons shovel anything and everything down I've found, and their rather successful crop system is quite the answer to a very large bird with a high reproduction rate, lol!
Our Woodpigeons clean the feeders off in no time. We live near farmland and the farmers shoot them when the corn is coming up. They see them as vermin but I think they are quite pretty
Of all creatures, man is the most detestable, he is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~ Mark Twain
I think they are too, they are lovely colours. So even if they drain every feeder they come in contact with, they're nice to look at in the process!
Hi Paul and BW, thats exactly what I was worried about, the fat melting and getting stuck, going off and causing infections, nice to know they will be fine, Like you BW I'm surrounded by farmland, we get alot of woodpigeons out here, only a few have found there way into my garden, the farmer round here luckily doesn't shoot them, thats horrible to see isn't it ,he's taken to putting up kites on huge sticks this year. The farm that my Mum lives next to, all the workers used to sit outside during lunch and tea breaks shooting the starlings, there haven't been any starlings there now for some years, poor things.
Hi LRB
Very interesting what you have said
I have noticed one of the local Woodpigeons in my back garden had a full crop only yesterday.
They know how to exploit 'humanised' food sources
Clever birds {smile}
Does the same apply to Feral Pigeons/all Pigeons?
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Yep absolutely - it is a 'feature' of doves and pigeons to use the crop as a pre-digestive store - here, the seeds begin digestion by being moisturised before going off to the gizzard - it is a common feature in many (but not all) seed-eating birds, but most prominent in pigeons/doves. When they have young, doves and pigeons produce 'crop milk' there which they feed their young on, rather than bring food to them - it is not to be mistaken for mammalian milk, and you should never give cow's or other mammal's milk to any bird as they cannot digest the lactose it contains and it can make them ill.
Crop milk is a semi-solid secretion, high in protein and fat, from the lining of the crop and it is regurgitated for the young. It looks a little like cottage cheese....yum!
Most birds of prey, apart from owls, also have a crop - some birds, such as jays, have an extendable pouch beneath the beak which they can use for carrying or storing but it does not have the same function as a pigeon's crop.