Jason EganWhy do pigeons bob their heads up and down when they walk?
September 2nd 2006 09:15
This has always been an intriguing phenomenon. Pigeons (or ‘Rock Pigeons’ to be exact) have a peculiar habit of bobbing their heads up and down when they walk. This leads to a common misconception – that the legs of a pigeon are somehow connected to their heads. When they walk, they move their heads up and down; when they stand still, there is no movement!
In order to shed more light on this conundrum, one must first understand the basics of ‘bird vision’. From Ornithology (the science of birds), it can be inferred that as the pigeon’s eyes are on the side of its head – allowing a greater range of vision to stay vigilant against predators from all directions – they also disable the pigeon from its sense of depth. Pigeons cannot establish distances easily. Luckily we humans have eyes on the front of our heads, giving us depth perception.
For the pigeon to compensate this shortcoming, the bird moves its head, deciding on differences in apparent motion from nearby and/or distant objects. Closer objects move faster, distant objects move slower.
Now when rock pigeons stop in one place, there is no requirement for depth perception, hence the cessation of the head bobbing. But once they start foraging for food again, the need for depth kicks in and they start moving their heads up and down – giving the illusion that their heads are somehow connected to their feet!
To illustrate this concept, here is a common example: In the past, you may have tried to shoo away a pigeon in an outdoor picnic area. When a hand is wafted towards the pigeon, it turns sharply head first – in a desperate attempt to ascertain the depth of the attack – before attempting to fly/walk away.
It all happens very quickly, but look out for it next time!
In order to shed more light on this conundrum, one must first understand the basics of ‘bird vision’. From Ornithology (the science of birds), it can be inferred that as the pigeon’s eyes are on the side of its head – allowing a greater range of vision to stay vigilant against predators from all directions – they also disable the pigeon from its sense of depth. Pigeons cannot establish distances easily. Luckily we humans have eyes on the front of our heads, giving us depth perception.
For the pigeon to compensate this shortcoming, the bird moves its head, deciding on differences in apparent motion from nearby and/or distant objects. Closer objects move faster, distant objects move slower.
Now when rock pigeons stop in one place, there is no requirement for depth perception, hence the cessation of the head bobbing. But once they start foraging for food again, the need for depth kicks in and they start moving their heads up and down – giving the illusion that their heads are somehow connected to their feet!
To illustrate this concept, here is a common example: In the past, you may have tried to shoo away a pigeon in an outdoor picnic area. When a hand is wafted towards the pigeon, it turns sharply head first – in a desperate attempt to ascertain the depth of the attack – before attempting to fly/walk away.
It all happens very quickly, but look out for it next time!
Mr. Bob (The Pigeon)
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If you hold a chicken in your hands and move its body up and down...its head stays in the same place...of course it probably helps if its alive.
-threethumbs
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Thanks. I've just written a book about birds and this (although facing a different angle) is very interesting. Maybe my next book could include some scientific facts on birds as well as the mystcial portents. Great food for thought, thanks for the inspiration and a wonderful daily read.
Lilla.
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