One grey misty misly morning I spotted this pigeon preening in a kowhai tree.
It was, I thought, a bit of a pointless task as it was raining and likely to keep on raining for some time to come. But this set me thinking, how would a pigeon know that? Aside from the weather forecast, we can have a look at the sky and based on previous experience assess whether the rain is likely to clear up. BUt do pigeon instincts cover weather?
Most pigeons, well feral rock pigeons, at least have incredibly homing instincts; which fact is exploited by those people who race pigeons. But do our native, big lumbering native New Zealand wood pigeons have a homing instinct?
My impression is that they are content to keep to local favourite locales. I'm not sure if they are territorial per se. It's hard to tell with the casual bird-watching that we indulge in from the windows of our house.
