Pigeon: familiarity breeds contempt...

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I've not blipped a pigeon before, but this one was looking rather dapper; it is in good condition and still has all of its toes! It must be young... Sigh. We are, of course, overrun by pigeons, but I think that some of them are rather beautiful with their iridescent necks and various shades of grey.

Our "pigeons" are actually feral domesticated Rock Doves . The original wild species (Columba livia) was domesticated to become Columba livia domestica; it was the first bird we domesticated (possibly 10,000 years ago), and over the (thousands of) years they have escaped or been released giving rise to the feral populations that we now know and love. I like the fact that their young are called "squeakers".

I took some rather cute pictures of moorhens (adult, juvenile, and moorhenling!); I'm blipping this for a (minor) change.