I believe our ours do move smoothly in one circumstance: following a moving target. All other eye movements are partial. This is the basis behind the "follow the pen with your eyes not your head" field sobriety test. When incapacitated, the smooth movement is impacted.
Very nice video ! If you do another on pigeons please explain the odd shape of Wood Pigeon eyes and also explain Roller Pigeons (got excited when saw the Falcon thought you may mention them !)
I live in a major US city in a place where it tends to be very hot 'round the clock in summertime. Like many city-dwellers, I did not have a very positive impression of pigeons, what with all of the pooping and half-ass nest building mess. One night, though, during a nasty heat wave (we're talking over 100F even at midnight), I went through an area at my workplace where there was a pigeon nest on top of a block wall, under the edge of a roof. Both parents were present, but one of them was perched on the roof edge while the other was hanging onto the edge of the block wall, vigorously flapping its wings. After a good five minutes, they traded places, and the flapping started up again from the one now hanging on the block wall. I suddenly realized that they were taking turns fanning the chicks, trying to keep them cool despite temperatures that can, and have, killed adult humans. I went inside, got a cup of water, and left it near the wall for them; after I walked a few feet away, the resting parent flew down to drink, then took up fan position while the other went to drink. (A few hours later, I found that one of my coworkers--an older lady who rarely had much of a kind word or gentle demeanor for anybody--had brought out the little battery-powered fan from her desk and clamped it to the roof edge a short distance from the nest, and both parents were taking a break and preening each other.) I've had a different view of pigeons ever since that incident. That kind of parental devotion deserves some recognition.
@@ecurewitzI was 8 when I found a pigeon that couldn't fly but was very friendly. I kept him as a pet for several weeks .He was a nice,gentle and affectionate pet who liked to play until an older kid stole him from his cardboard nest in our front hallway.
Pigeons are awesome. When I was young, my sister saved one from a cat, but his wing was injured and she insisted we nurse him back to health. He only needed about 3 days, but it turns out that's all that's needed for a pigeon to imprint. We drove him outside the city to release him, and he was waiting outside the door when we got home. So we named him Dodo, bought him a cage, and made it official. He was a fantastic pet. He'd sit on your shoulder and coo at things. Our mother was his favorite person, and he would regularly attack any inanimate objects that he felt she paid too much attention to, such as the phone, the remote control, and her slippers.
Not quite the same, but I had an Amazon parrot. Not ‘from Amazon’ just an Amazon. She would escape from a huge ‘inescapable’ cage and greet me when I came home strutting next to the Rottweiler. I loved that bird, but had to rehome her. She would sit on my shoulder. If anyone talked to me she would sit there, scream and flap her wings until they stopped. She was loud. People gave up
I've heard the advice before that if you want a parrot you should consider a pigeon instead. Same intelligence but lower maintenance and they don't have built in bolt cutters and bull horns.
@@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63 parrots come in all sizes and personalities. I’ve had 3, my favorite being the caique. If you’re interested at all, look them up…….they’re hilarious
@@chemicalwonderland2492: Ah, but it's different, because there was so much going around in the 80s that you have to suspect that meaningful volumes even drifted to the top of Everest on the wind. The 80s was a time all it's own, which is why part of the 90s was just a giant hangover.
One more important note about the pigeon nests: a lot of the time when you see a photo of a pigeon with like, five sticks? That's actually a "stress nest". That's a female pigeon who needed to lay, but was kicked off of her nest by another pigeon (or had it destroyed in some other way). That's like making fun of someone for using the bathroom in the bushes, then realizing their house caught fire while they were headed to pee- yeah, it's not the most dignified, but the body's gotta do what the body's gotta do and we're just doing our best!
Heart-rending, but complete bullshit. That's a "nest" by rock pigeon standards. A nests only function is to keep the eggs from rolling out. In a tree, you need a rather elaborate nest setup. In a rock-face, full of nooks, crannies and other uneven surfaces, you probably just need a few sticks. - When humans began building "mountains" of their own. Rock pigeons moved in and are still trying to figure out where the nooks and crannies are in our bizarre perfectly smooth concrete crags. Leading to, yes, nests that look kinda pathetic. - But it still works because there's plenty of flat surfaces and few natural predators. Considering they're considered "sky-rats", they have no problem surviving and breeding in cities.
I'm so glad more people are appreciating pigeons now. They've been domesticated and owned as pets for so long that they're really more like stray dogs or stray cats than any other 'pest.' We brought them to our cities and then abandoned them, and I'm glad they're getting recognition for how sweet and smart they are!
Pigeons have been in every role. Heraldic animal, animal raised for meat, service animal, pet, military animal (and simultaneously peace symbol 🕊️), and now I guess we've decided they're vermin and got collective amnesia about their intelligence, but seriously, name a more iconic creature.
I alwayws loved them... apparantly when I was little I was so obessed that I took a feather from the road and start hugging and call it my child... I do not remember XD But did always found way cuter animals like pidgeon, rats, possum and raccoons....
I grew up in rural areas where there weren't just tons of pigeons hanging out. But whenever I visited "the big city" I loved seeing all the pigeons and I love the cooing sounds they make. Everyone else who is more used to seeing them in a more urban area thought it was so weird because they hated them. Even when visiting a foreign country, the pigeons were there and I tried to speak their cooing language and make friends.
as a long-time pigeon defender I'm so happy. They deserve our love and respect! It's like if we collectively abandoned the chihuahua after breeding them for a specific purpose for hundreds of years and decided they were just stupid wild animals.
6:31 If you think that pigeon with the banana is dumb, remember the pigeon figured that out faster than a game journalist figured out how to jump over a pillar in the Cuphead tutorial.
Wilbur, our rescue pigeon, was quite a character. He LOVED playing in the tub like he was a duck. He would stand on the toilet seat while you got into the tub, then jump to the edge of the tub while you brought your knee over to the edge. He would hop onto your knee and wait until you slowly lowered the knee into the tub. Then he would spread his wings and float away. If you happened to walk into the bird room with a towel. he would just have a fit because he thought he was going to take a dip! He lived 15 years after he came to us. We still miss him every day. ❤
@@ClanImprobable He was a little angel! He also loved to be held like a football and thrown across the room...he would always fly back down and beg for more! ❤
Last month we found a baby pigeon, fallen from the nest. With several visits to a vet (who initially gave it very little chance of survival), and few weeks of syringe feeding it - it made full recovery, became quite social, and yesterday we gave it to a wild animals rescue center, so it can properly integrate with other pigeons. Both my wife and I got really attached to the little rascal, we both miss it, and this video hit the bull's eye!
Baby pigeons are not fed by their parents by putting the food into their beaks like other birds do, they don't open their beak voluntarily. The babies reach into the throat of their parents and eat from there. At the first time both parents produce some kind of milk in their throats to feed the chicks, later they give them predigested grains. Pigeon experts feed baby pidgeons with feeding bottles like in this (German language) video: ruclips.net/video/KVXyU5vXZ5o/видео.html Alternatively you can hold the food between your finger tips and the baby gets its food out of there. Only feed them grain or grain flakes, never any kind of insects, worms or cat food. Their diet is strictly vegan.
@@springheeledjackofthegurdi2117 I didn't realize how social these birds are. The little rascal would escape his cardboard box, go next to my feet, peck at my socks for a bit and then proceed to snooze next to me. It would go looking for us if we leave the room...
@@petar.stoyanov That’s so adorable. As domesticated animals I wouldn’t be surprised if they are genetically predisposed to be less averse to human company. They are some of our oldest friends:’)
@@theshadow8900😂. There is a RUclips Short for the song - search for pigeon love or look through the channel's shorts list. you must be new here and are not acquainted with Ze's musical skills😂 he makes random songs about the animals he talks about - they are not official songs by any means!
@@theshadow8900 I think it may have been custom-written... The lyrics are a little too close to the subject matter of the video for it to be plausibly otherwise, at least without some serious explanation. :)
I have about a dozen or so pigeons who nest and congregate around my apartment, which they nestle in a closed off alley between my place and the next building. I’ve lived here for almost a year and have noticed some “regulars” who frequently stop by my window every day, the same time each day. Initially I thought they were unintelligent and dirty, but they are in fact sentimental and observant little fellas. I adore them. Thank you for sharing things I didn’t know about them before!
Wait until ZeFrank or a science hippy gets footage of rock pigeons going onto docks, pulling pieces of bark up, then waiting for a forklift or person to come by and snap them off for them without realizing it’s the pigeons making someone else make their nest materials We really need a wildlife music album from you, your music is amazing
You know, I never have seen a pigeon baby before. They're much more yellow than I'd have expected. Thanks Ze Frank. Also, "Do a little dance, make a little love, get down or a stick for the nest" was brilliant.
sadly, my roommates and I had to (ahem) rid our balcony of pigeon babies. the entire place was covered in, well, pigeon poop and they had decided it was their place. no. it is not their place. we have to keep chasing them out. "go to the neighbors! they can afford to keep the poop off." Oy.
My grandpa back in the 80s and 90s raised homing pigeons in southern utah. I love the songs they make. Lots of fond memories it brings back to me. I used to feed and watch them as a little kid. They were sweet little featherheads.
@@slwrabbits Can I stop you in mid bow for a moment to point out this is the same fluffy arse who has costed me almost $4,000.00 USD between two sets of vet visits for eating foam rubber stuff... He did this TWICE. You'd think he'd learn his lesson the first time he was cut open. And it was almost exactly a year apart, too. He's not that smart. And I used to say he was the smarter of my two cats. Don't know about that anymore.
Mr Frank, it just so happens that a pigeon has been nesting underneath my back patio chair the past couple weeks, guarding 2 eggs, and AS OF THIS MORNING, the bébes hatched! Your timing could not be more perfect, sir. Well done.
get ready for some serious puking action. There was a pigeon baby outside my window that was getting puked on so much by its parents trying to feed it that it can't even eat it all, and the ledge was just covered in puddles of pigeon puke. And shit.
I had a pet pidgeon. My little son with autism was growing up a bit with her and she was most caring, sweet and fun animal I ever had in my life. They were chasing around the house, she insisted to see him in the morning drinking his milk and she was whole time on my shoulder lightly pecking my ear 😂 He is now 7y old and he still try to pet any pidgeon he sees thinking it's her. ❤
I’ve had a relationship with the crows in my area for years, but recently I’ve become acquainted with a pigeon I call Gabriel and I’ve seen him build his nest under an awning next to my job. This is the second brood I’ve seen him sire and for the first time a few weeks ago I saw what looked to me like the parents teaching the new fledglings how to fly in a flock. I’ve gained a new respect for these birds, Gabe always comes to me and helps me clean up while I set up the patio 😂
@@MystralThunder Yes Gabe is the pigeon. I work at a restaurant, and he will pick up all the scraps and crumbs while I get the tables together 😂. A lot of people have seen him just follow me back and forth out front and think it’s cute. These pretty ladies stopped and asked his story once, so he’s a certified wingman too 😝 🐦 ♥️
10:40 I'm a driver for a racing pigeon club. Our longest race is 500 miles. I drive the pigeons 500 miles away, and they fly home. We fly 100, 200, 300, and 500 mile races. They always beat me home 😂
@@Greentrees60 Not as much as your selfishness and narcissism. did you chose where when yo be born? Did you choose your set of genes? Did you choose,,, oh, I don't know, not have a work accident, not been born blind or autistic? Or not to get overly intoxicated by lead from drinking water which impair cognition and alter behaviors. You've been exceptionally lucky, but believe you are better than others. So yeah, stuff it you know where.
What an incredible experience! It's amazing how witnessing moments of animal care and devotion can completely shift our perspective. Those pigeons showed such remarkable parental dedication, going to great lengths to protect their chicks from the scorching heat. It's heartwarming to hear how your coworker also pitched in to help with a little fan. Moments like these remind us of the profound bonds and instincts that exist in the animal kingdom, and they definitely deserve recognition. Thanks for sharing such a touching story! 🕊💕
OMG…the closing song..”You don’t puke in my mouth no more…getting shit on from above…I think this pigeon love is gone..” I am rolling! Thank you Ze…I needed this so badly today..❤️❤️❤️
First Casual Geographic, and now Ze Frank. It's so great to see pigeons starting to get the appreciation they deserve. Also, "Pigeons can make children cry, with science!" is Ze Frank's best out of context quote yet.
I love pigeons mainly because as a kid, dad had all white tumblers/rollers. So beautiful flying in blue sky. I have had fan tail and some mix breed that I hand fed after mother and dad got eaten. Yea with a syringe to mimic pigeon milk. Took lots of time. Look it up if you dont know pigeon milk but basically regurgitated food to feed chicks. Spent lots of time with them to end up as more cat food. Stupid stray cats ruined that for me! Got them all!
Agreed! I work voluntarily for a local pigeon rescue, where we not only help injured birds, but also swap their eggs with fake eggs to help slow down population growth (which sounds barbaric at first, but considering pigeons lay up to 9 clutches, each containing 2 eggs, PER YEAR, it's sadly the only form of population control that doesn't involve killing birds) and we also help educate on pigeons, such as their literal urge to lay so many eggs, even when starving, since humans have bred them to do so. Or how pigeons can't just be relocated, since they are loyal to where they live and always try to return. OR how they don't actually transmit diseases (unless you basically eat their poop directly)... at least not unto humans or other mammals, but instead onto other pigeons. There is so much misinformation on pigeons out there. Calling them rats of the sky when we humans are the ones who made them into what they were once they lost their use for us is just... unwarranted and unfair. Pigeons do not enjoy eating fries and human vomit. They are super clean animals, so they don't enjoy being covered in dirt. They are really intelligent and don't deserve to be chased or kicked around. Even to those humans who don't like them regardless, please t least don't abuse our local city chickens. They are nothing more than former pets who have to survive on the streets, like street cats or street dogs would.
Fun fact. The pigeon pattern recognition is so good that during WW2 US experimented with pigeon guided anti ship bombs. The pigeons would be put into a box and trained to peck at ship silhouettes. The placement of the pecks onto the screen membrane would then be translated by the bomb into guidance adjustments. This worked very well in testing but in the end US didn't adopt it.
There was also an attempt to train pigeons to detect people lost at sea not too long ago. They were more accurate than the computers, but it was also not implemented.
Animal rights people would have had a field day with the torpedoes. I remember reading about that somewhere. With finding people at sea, the ship would have to stop, release, and wait. Otherwise they wouldn't find their way back. They would lose LoS but remember the position from geomagnetism.
6:30 "Have you ever been in a box with a banana? Might be kind of overwhelming, going through the life choices you made that led you to that moment." LMAOOOO
One thing's certain: If you want a pet bird get a pigeon instead of a parrot. Costs ya an hour's worth of work rather than a month's, It won't outlive you, you can playfight with it without losing flesh, it definitely wants to cuddle with your more, doesn't make any high-pitched sounds that annoy every family member, neighbour or discord friends, and if it flies away by accident in all likelihood it'll come back (well if you get them young, adults will also return, just not to you - from personal experience).
"And they have a field of vision that covers 340 degrees. Compare that to the 0 degrees covered by a dead pigeon" Thank you ZF. That really puts things into perspective 😂
Here's a question I'm suddenly wondering... If 360 is the 2D complete field (a circle), What's the 3D version (a sphere)? Is it just 360*2, or is it 360*360?
@@auricstorm If you draw a square that's one meter on a side on a flat surface, that's one square meter. If you draw a square that's one degree on a side on the surface of a sphere, that's a square degree. Just like you need square feet/meters to measure a flat surface, you need square degrees/radians to measure the surface of a sphere. A whole sphere has a surface area of 4π square radians, which is just over 41,000 square degrees.
I watched this with my mom and now she’s wandering around the house singing “he don’t puke in my mouth no more…” … THANK YOU ZEFRANK! More people need to appreciate pigeons. Just the other day I went to a volunteer group to learn how to catch them when their feet get tangled and safely free them. They’re the most wonderful little things and the way they’re generally treated is so unfair.
They are just so filthy and disgusting when they get so dirty in the city; and they supposedly spread disease as well (f.e. people are not allowed to clean up their feces without a full on hazmat suit). Why/how do they get so dirty and unwell-looking anyway?
I did it once by instinct in Barcelona...people were feeding some feral parrots in a park, of course there were pigeons around but mainly ignored and gathering left overs from parrots. we were feeding the pigeons and noticed one with feet tangled...both of them horribly...I know their eye sight, which is amazing, went to small blind spot, got him..there was a guy feeding parrots that helped me untangle the poor guy..rewarding experience and amazing that there are this kind of workshops...
It's a long shot, but what is the name of the volunteer group, or how did you find it? Google provides lots of "pest control" sites when I search for things like that, which is not in the least helpful. I've always wanted to help the pigeons in train stations that have tangles all over their feet, and I almost tear up when I see birds with amputated toes.
@@ivyannanet try looking for “stringfoot (pigeon) rescue” or something like that! I’m a little hesitant to give my own location beyond stating that I’m in the UK :’D but I hope that helps!
One thing I'll always love about Zefrank is that he constantly gives off the energy that some of these videos just come from him perusing Jstor and going, "wait, this research paper is about them training a pigeon to do WHAT?" and boom, video content.
did you also know that columbidae are one of the few bird families that evolved the ability to use suction to drink? most birds have to hold the liquid in their beak and manually tilt their head back to swallow, pigeon’s beaks don’t even need to leave the water. could you imagine relying on gravity to drink?
It turns out "it turns out the white tern turns out" turned out to be the best line in the video for me and now I'm wanting a full video on terns! 😄 The writing for this channel is endlessly brilliant- great work again, Ze Frank!
so wild to imagine now common animals in their natural habitat. now it looks so weird to see a pigeon on a cliff, as if they were trying to find a city-adjecent habitat. same with chickens being jungle birds. just looks so funny to see in such a different context then youre used to
For a while, the building next to me had a roof problem so there was almost always a great deal of water. I thought of it as the roof lake. I would pull up a chair to watch the pigeons in that lake. There were the "I'm just here for a bath" as well as tons of courtship dancing. Little fights between pigeons and starlings. In the morning I would watch them and couldn't get the idea of club med out of my head. I was truly sorry when they fixed the roof.
I'm the 'crazy pigeon guy' in my town and honestly they're amazing little birds and they all have unique personalities, for instance there's a specific one who will just come and sit on my shoulder, no food needed, and they can pick out who is kind or unkind towards them and will avoid the latter.
Being stuck in a box with a banana sounds like an upgrade to me, the furthest I got was being stuck in a box with someone asking me annoying questions and telling me how much I suck. That pigeon is going places I tell you.
Pigeon fancier right here! Do you know that some pigeons breeds are known for specific acrobatics styles? Some dive and corkscrew like they have been shot in 1 wing and will spin so fast that they make figure skaters look lame. Some dive like a pencil closed wing for thousands of feet (15K+ feet) and only open their wings to pull out of terminal velocity at about 100 feet and they sound like a rocket ship passing with the roat of their wings? Some so forward flips over and over, some do back flips over and over, some do back flip roll to reverse then invert flip forward roll to forward direction on repeat over and over! They are pretty amazing acrobats. These breeds are not as good at homing as racing pigeons though.
@@Firesgonethey don't do it for fun. They're bred to do that, but it comes from genetic fuckups, so its not good for the health of the pigeon. Their balance is fucked and some get so messed up by these breeders, that they just roll on the ground. Its abusive, but many people don't realise since they don't know why the animals are doing that.
@@jeffery9543 actually you are incorrect. This is something that they do for fun and it does NOT stuff up their balance and it's not caused by genetic stuff ups either? It's caused by selective breeding for the desired traits; but most have been caused by accident? Just something that the a some birds started doing? The birds are definitely not balance or impaired in any way, in fact most of the birds that are the best at performing are usually have heightened balance and eye sight because when they perform their "stunts" they also need to look out for predatory peregrine falcons. My pigeons would often do tricks in front of the falcon sometimes? Any bird that i owned that showed signs of genetic restriction or abnormalities never would be allowed to breed, I wouldn't allow it? The donnick breeds in particular have been known to have some birds so intense with their tricks that they don't pull out and may crash into trees; however this is because these birds haven't learnt to counter spin to prevent giddiness. I never had this problem with my birds because they were OCD and would do the exact number of spins 1 direction as they do the other 👍 I'm also an environmental scientist and know lots about genetics and breeding of animals. I can assure you that you've been misled if someone has told you this?
I misspellined the breed name donnick when it is meant to be Donek Here is an example of them performing, although I've seen thia breed do much tighter corkscrews? The birds i used to have would maintain more synchronicity (they would all dive together) and kept a much tighter pattern so as to avoid unintended collisions? There is also some benefit to individual bird performance when there is a smaller flock; they become more daring and wild so the performance is dialled up to 11....... Because they have all got more room between each other. Their movements are more fluid as they aren't trying to avoid each other as much? The result becomes more expressive performance (as if to compensate for having less birds needs to be more wow?) less jolty counter movements due to avoidance means a much more focused performance on their trick rather than crashing. It's more fluid and they feel more "on show" so there is more competitive behaviour to "out spin" each other. So in this clip keep in mind the guy is running a much bigger flock so it looks very chaotic and messy. Note: there is 1 bird that did a tighter spin than the rest, that would be medium grade in my flock i had growing up 😉 ruclips.net/video/PtLYixC_Eo4/видео.html Try arguing that these pigeons aren't doing it for fun?
A bonus people don't talk about is that Pigeons must be perched in order to defecate due to how tucked in their feet are during flight, So they cannot hit and run you after doing a fly-by. Seagulls on the other hand.......
That's false. My car is always parked 3 meters away from any wall or tree and I guarantee you they still manage to shit on it. Or maybe they go directly on it to shit ? But seems more likely to me that they fly over to our building windows. I have never seen a pigeon on a car where I live.
@@oneoranota Pidgeon and seagull shit are extremely similar so perhaps...... regardless, even if you aren't in a more seaside location, probably happens when they take off.
One of our neighbors religiously feeds the pigeons. Whole flock of them fly around like clockwork when its time for him to go out. One time a bedraggled fellow who was getting picked on by the others flew on top of our fence and stared at me for several minutes. I knew he was begging for either companionship or food, but had to shoo him away because I already have two abandoned cats who hang out nearly 24/7 in that yard and they are accomplished hunters. Couldn't risk it. Word of warning though: the man who is feeding those birds ended up contracting some sort of leprosy from walking barefoot among all those pigeon droppings. He may yet lose it despite years of medical visits.
Fun fact: during world war 1, there was a pidgeon named Cher Ami. He was a homing pidgeon. He delivered a crucial message for the American Expeditionary Forces despite being injured. He saved nearly 200 soldiers trapped behind enemy lines, enduring injury during his heroic flight. He received the French Croix de Guerre Medal, a recognition of her bravery and service during World War I.
First of all, HE, Cher Ami was a male homing pigeon. Secondly, he was an American soldier pigeon, not French. Thirdly, he was badly wounded when the germans targeted him with small arms and flack fire. He took shrapnel through the chest, had an eye taken out, and had one of his legs dangling by a tendon. He was a true badass bird.
@@brianbrian1769 As a New York City native, and a science nerd myself, AND as an individual who has been shat on from above just like in the song, I am familiar with the genealogy of these rats with wings.
This one is particularly hilarious. Just tickles my nerdy and hippie funnybones. Thank you so much for the guffaws! Also, I really love the "Pigeon Love" song. It needs its own video! I actually went searching to see if there was one, but no... 😢
Lyrics: "you don't puke in my mouth no more you don't drag its tail on the floor I think this pigeon love is gone I think this pigeon love is over Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above you don't puke in my mouth no more you don't drag its tail on the floor I think this pigeon love is gone I think this pigeon love is over Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above" (this is how i'm showing my support for a full length song)
Pigeon: have a GPS level of navigation in their brain and can be as smart as crows for problem solving Also pigeon: will built their nest in the dumbest places and will not see the danger of a predator.
Massive new appreciation for the intelligence and complexity of pigeons. Birds are all so amazing and have evolved a lot since their dino ancestors. Thanks for helping me continue to appreciate the natural world even when I didn't think I could be in awe of it any more.
I like the thing the coast guard has where they trained pigeons to peck at safety orange then put them in a little glass dome on rescue planes to search for lifeboats.
I lost it at the 7:09 delayed dance LMAO, sound like you couldn't hold you laughter too But seriously, that bit it's and amazing way to explain science in lay terms
pigeons really are the nicest birds i've encountered. and pretty smart too. one learned who i was and that i'd share my lunch with it. in turn i got to watch a pigeon for an hour and be far more relaxed. wonder where that bird is right now *knocking sounds at the window*
This will probably get buried but there's a study done where scientists tested pigeon's navigational abilities. They took two pigeons, used anesthetic on one of the pigeon's beaks to block out it's sense of smell. The other pigeon was left unchanged, so it could still smell. Both were released from the same location. They put GPS trackers on both. The pigeon with the numbed beak took a long, meandering and circling flight path. Clearly got lost. It only seemed to find it's way home around when the numbing would have worn off. The other pigeon took a very direct flight path home and was home hours earlier. I believe this throws into dispute being able to see Earth's magnetic field, or that pigeons rely solely on visual information when navigating. They still don't think it's scent alone, but that some complex navigational information is transmitted through the beak for sure. There's another video on YT documenting this study. Fascinating stuff!!
I've always had a special place in my heart for pigeons after learning they were domesticated animals used to send messages but once the telegraph was invented they were no longer needed for that purpose and were released in droves. It's almost like they keep waiting for us to reclaim them as pets
I saved a lot of birds in my lifetime. And the one thing that always strikes me whenever I save a pigeon (no matter the subspecie) is that they are ... Absolutely innocent. Never will they try to hurt you or attack you. For instance no matter how loving or smart a baby crow can be once it understands that you are anything but an ennemy .... You still have to put your hand in that box and let it peck your hand to it's heart content, for it is afraid and feels the need to not go down without a fight (understandable - in their situation I don't think we'd have the balls to fight such a giant for our lives). They soon become absolutely trusting and loving birds but .... Pigeons are different: they are innocent from the very start. Be it an adult or a youngling, they seem to lack any aggressivity, which doesn't prevent them from being very clingy (especially when you forget to file their nails) - yet even if they do not have the same intellect as a crow or an owl .... You cannot stop but feel touched by their blind trust. So whevener I hear people saying that they are flying rats (rats are cute AF but whatever) it makes me wonder why people hate them so much. How can you hate creatures with this level of innocence? Thank you for making people more aware that "the flying rats" are more complex than they look. And I hope that my comment will open at least ONE person's eye... Birds behave very differently from us, but trust me when I say that their logic is sound. Do not let a baby bird die on the street - if you hate burbz then call someone, but please - they are very sensitive creatures. You wouldn't let a child starve to death on the street, birds are the same thing and one does not exclude the other (I see you, "human first" folks)
Man, I always have to stop and remind myself how your “The Show with Ze Frank” took young millennials like me at the time by storm (among other demographics I’m sure). You were a huge part of my growing up and emotional growth. Though times change, I’m glad we still have you around and your genius focused on animal education ❤
I am not a millenial, my kid is, but I found Zefrank one time when I was down sicker than sick and just laying on my bed watching videos about weird animal facts made me feel so much better!
@Wyattinous - I was going to make a snarky comment about that "animal education" phrase - ZeFrank being very versatile to educate people and animals, blah, blah, when I realized that Sapiens are animals, too! Sorry for the near insult. You are 100% correct.
As someone who's looking forward to adopt a rescue pigeon as a pet sometime in the near future, and someone who always delights in your videos and how informative they are, this episode was a delight!
3 месяца назад
Pigeons nest yearly on my balcony. I've seen eggs, that hatch and pigeons that grow all the way so they can fly and then they fly back from time to time just to hang out, and have also seen eggs that are just abandoned in the dirt, beneath the plants. It's like having pets once a year.
It makes my day when I get notified when a new video is out from Ze Frank! I saw the description and started laughing and had to stop what I was doing to see what it was all about. Thank you for this, it also reminded me of the time at a local fast food restaurant there was this one pigeon that was there everyday and it was hurt, it dragged one wing and walked funny too, well everyone took pity on it and it got extra food and day by day this pigeon was there, then one evening it was doing its thing limping around eating and then it straightened up and flew off. People got the surprise of their life and knew they had been suckered by a pigeon!! This video reminded me of that, I had to share lol😂😅
My dad used to race pigeons. You drive a certain distance away, release pigeons you raised then go home. You time how long it takes them to get home and the fastest time wins.
I once had a professor who did a lot of studies involving pigeons and honest, he bobbed his head when he walked. We spent hours trying to listen, but it was difficult since.a great deal of mental effort went into stifling laughter.
Thank you for this video as somone who's been keeping pet pigeons there whole life and always getting asked why I liked the "sky rats" so much, it's refreshing to see such a nice video about them come out
Look, maybe it's because I don't have to really deal with them since I'm not in a city but I've always loved pidgins. Their grey and white patterns are pretty and the irridesant feathers around their necks are beautiful.
I also remember seeing where they use pigeons/doves to search for orange rescue vessels while flying around searching. Kinda cool thinking a pigeon could save your life while cast away.
@BlackReshiram - I think that the iridescent ones are beautiful, too, strutting around in the Sun. The same with wild turkeys - with their iridescent colors in the Sun.
Would be nice to see a video about horses, they are seen as just the common farm animal that pulls plows and runs fast but there is a lot of pretty incredible stuff going on their bodies, their senses, their intelligence, and well the obvious their athletic performance. Learning about horses taught me that pigeons are some very underappreciated and incredible animals, i think horses are in some way in that position.
common farm animal? sounds like the US. my horse marauder people know horses are the best animals. they're not just intelligent, they're also very empathetic. for example just think about how nervous they get if you approach them nervously, that's empathy. and Lassie has nothing on horses, they're much better companions and are better at helping their humans when they're in trouble. that being said, i love dogs but horses are just amazing, they're something else
The channel ACCA (A Chick Called Albert) had a breakthrough recently; the guy has been going to fancy pigeon shows for over a decade, and got his dream: an egg. Pre-showing, breeders usually keep male and female pigeons apart, so if they lay any eggs during the showing, they're almost never viable. But this time? One was. He got to hatch and raise a free fancy pigeon, and that little bird has imprinted on him _HARD._ 😂☺🥰
I'm very early in the video but that analogy for focusing on images during movement for scrolling is just such good science communication, well done Ze Frank
Frank, I forgot how much I appreciate your videos and didn’t even realize something had been missing from my life until my phone notified me of a new Ze Frank video. Haha 😂❤
I can, in fact, tell what tissue sections show disregulated growth indicative of breast cancer. But the fact that pigeons can do it too and possibly faster is still impressive.
Check out Curiosity Stream! Go to curiositystream.com/zefrank and use code: zefrank to get 25% off when you sign up!
We all just failed a field sobriety test.
Need me some true facts about the sarcastic fringe head fish
After the end of this video I'm kinda surprised we didn't get an 80's Pop style "Bees Just Wanna Have Fun" song for the last video.
😄👍
I believe our ours do move smoothly in one circumstance: following a moving target. All other eye movements are partial. This is the basis behind the "follow the pen with your eyes not your head" field sobriety test. When incapacitated, the smooth movement is impacted.
Very nice video ! If you do another on pigeons please explain the odd shape of Wood Pigeon eyes and also explain Roller Pigeons (got excited when saw the Falcon thought you may mention them !)
I live in a major US city in a place where it tends to be very hot 'round the clock in summertime. Like many city-dwellers, I did not have a very positive impression of pigeons, what with all of the pooping and half-ass nest building mess. One night, though, during a nasty heat wave (we're talking over 100F even at midnight), I went through an area at my workplace where there was a pigeon nest on top of a block wall, under the edge of a roof. Both parents were present, but one of them was perched on the roof edge while the other was hanging onto the edge of the block wall, vigorously flapping its wings. After a good five minutes, they traded places, and the flapping started up again from the one now hanging on the block wall. I suddenly realized that they were taking turns fanning the chicks, trying to keep them cool despite temperatures that can, and have, killed adult humans.
I went inside, got a cup of water, and left it near the wall for them; after I walked a few feet away, the resting parent flew down to drink, then took up fan position while the other went to drink. (A few hours later, I found that one of my coworkers--an older lady who rarely had much of a kind word or gentle demeanor for anybody--had brought out the little battery-powered fan from her desk and clamped it to the roof edge a short distance from the nest, and both parents were taking a break and preening each other.)
I've had a different view of pigeons ever since that incident. That kind of parental devotion deserves some recognition.
Plus their eggs taste good
Damn. XD @@whwhywhywhywhywhywhy
they shit absolutely everywhere. If not for that I wouldn't have dashed their nest drom my 8th storey apartment.
Pigeons are supposed to make very good pets
@@ecurewitzI was 8 when I found a pigeon that couldn't fly but was very friendly.
I kept him as a pet for several weeks .He was a nice,gentle and affectionate pet who liked to play until an older kid stole him from his cardboard nest in our front hallway.
“And that’s not all. Pigeons can make children cry, with science!” Well I’m sold
I hope for your sake this means you have a lot of True Facts to watch. Makes me a lil jealous 😉
@@eloerch7 - I am jealous, too. I've been caught up for ages.
This guy killed a popular translation voiceover channel in 2022; copyrighthole, don't watch him.
when i was a kid i thought pigeons have a clockwork and gears inside them and that's why their heads bob
@@OnewIasagyou are mad bro, just let it go jeez
Pigeons are awesome.
When I was young, my sister saved one from a cat, but his wing was injured and she insisted we nurse him back to health. He only needed about 3 days, but it turns out that's all that's needed for a pigeon to imprint. We drove him outside the city to release him, and he was waiting outside the door when we got home. So we named him Dodo, bought him a cage, and made it official.
He was a fantastic pet. He'd sit on your shoulder and coo at things. Our mother was his favorite person, and he would regularly attack any inanimate objects that he felt she paid too much attention to, such as the phone, the remote control, and her slippers.
thats so sweet❤
Extremely based, your pidgeon.
Not quite the same, but I had an Amazon parrot. Not ‘from Amazon’ just an Amazon. She would escape from a huge ‘inescapable’ cage and greet me when I came home strutting next to the Rottweiler. I loved that bird, but had to rehome her. She would sit on my shoulder. If anyone talked to me she would sit there, scream and flap her wings until they stopped. She was loud. People gave up
I've heard the advice before that if you want a parrot you should consider a pigeon instead. Same intelligence but lower maintenance and they don't have built in bolt cutters and bull horns.
@@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63 parrots come in all sizes and personalities. I’ve had 3, my favorite being the caique. If you’re interested at all, look them up…….they’re hilarious
"Remember, this was the '80s. Everyone was on cocaine."
True facts, indeed.
It's 2024 and we are still on cocaine 🤣
@@chemicalwonderland2492: Ah, but it's different, because there was so much going around in the 80s that you have to suspect that meaningful volumes even drifted to the top of Everest on the wind. The 80s was a time all it's own, which is why part of the 90s was just a giant hangover.
yea they were. and guess what? movies and music made back then was AWESOME
@@absalomdraconis facsn't
cocaine turns hair white. that's how you spot the users ;) t's a fact
One more important note about the pigeon nests: a lot of the time when you see a photo of a pigeon with like, five sticks? That's actually a "stress nest". That's a female pigeon who needed to lay, but was kicked off of her nest by another pigeon (or had it destroyed in some other way). That's like making fun of someone for using the bathroom in the bushes, then realizing their house caught fire while they were headed to pee- yeah, it's not the most dignified, but the body's gotta do what the body's gotta do and we're just doing our best!
@debayeuxchats5607 - Awww! I feel like crying now..... B^(
Heart-rending, but complete bullshit. That's a "nest" by rock pigeon standards. A nests only function is to keep the eggs from rolling out. In a tree, you need a rather elaborate nest setup. In a rock-face, full of nooks, crannies and other uneven surfaces, you probably just need a few sticks. - When humans began building "mountains" of their own. Rock pigeons moved in and are still trying to figure out where the nooks and crannies are in our bizarre perfectly smooth concrete crags. Leading to, yes, nests that look kinda pathetic. - But it still works because there's plenty of flat surfaces and few natural predators. Considering they're considered "sky-rats", they have no problem surviving and breeding in cities.
@@kyosokutai
I had no idea, pidgeons are descendants of cliff dwelling birds. How interesting.
@@raraavis7782isnt it literally said in the video?
So true. I had a pair of mating pigeons build in our shed and they made a beautiful perfect nest with lots of straw and soft filling.
I'm so glad more people are appreciating pigeons now. They've been domesticated and owned as pets for so long that they're really more like stray dogs or stray cats than any other 'pest.' We brought them to our cities and then abandoned them, and I'm glad they're getting recognition for how sweet and smart they are!
Pigeons have been in every role. Heraldic animal, animal raised for meat, service animal, pet, military animal (and simultaneously peace symbol 🕊️), and now I guess we've decided they're vermin and got collective amnesia about their intelligence, but seriously, name a more iconic creature.
I alwayws loved them... apparantly when I was little I was so obessed that I took a feather from the road and start hugging and call it my child... I do not remember XD
But did always found way cuter animals like pidgeon, rats, possum and raccoons....
If you like pigeons so much, here's a whole rap song about them: *Aesop Rock - Pigeonometry*
I grew up in rural areas where there weren't just tons of pigeons hanging out. But whenever I visited "the big city" I loved seeing all the pigeons and I love the cooing sounds they make. Everyone else who is more used to seeing them in a more urban area thought it was so weird because they hated them. Even when visiting a foreign country, the pigeons were there and I tried to speak their cooing language and make friends.
@@TasteOfButterfliesmost people today treat pigeons like muhammed treated dogs.
I’m loving the internet’s new wave of pigeon appreciation and debunking misconceptions. At least the side of the internet I spend my time on.
Heather, I want to give a giant female pigeon, which has your soul, my special worm.
Heather, I would want you to become my mate if you were a pigeon.
as a long-time pigeon defender I'm so happy. They deserve our love and respect! It's like if we collectively abandoned the chihuahua after breeding them for a specific purpose for hundreds of years and decided they were just stupid wild animals.
@@GodheadNee I have a crush on pigeons.
Disgusting rats with wings.
6:31 If you think that pigeon with the banana is dumb, remember the pigeon figured that out faster than a game journalist figured out how to jump over a pillar in the Cuphead tutorial.
“Cleverer than a game journalist” isn’t a high bar to clear.
It's also hard to launch yourself into flight when you're in a box barely larger than your wingspan
Come on. You have to compare the pigeon with someone at least of the similar intellectual level
We should train pigeons to be gaming journalist.
@@goldfencer But it does clear, so they’re officially smarter than some paid actors.
Wilbur, our rescue pigeon, was quite a character. He LOVED playing in the tub like he was a duck. He would stand on the toilet seat while you got into the tub, then jump to the edge of the tub while you brought your knee over to the edge. He would hop onto your knee and wait until you slowly lowered the knee into the tub. Then he would spread his wings and float away. If you happened to walk into the bird room with a towel. he would just have a fit because he thought he was going to take a dip! He lived 15 years after he came to us. We still miss him every day. ❤
I miss Wilbur and I've only known him for a paragraph. Rest well Wilbur.
@@ClanImprobable He was a little angel! He also loved to be held like a football and thrown across the room...he would always fly back down and beg for more! ❤
Last month we found a baby pigeon, fallen from the nest. With several visits to a vet (who initially gave it very little chance of survival), and few weeks of syringe feeding it - it made full recovery, became quite social, and yesterday we gave it to a wild animals rescue center, so it can properly integrate with other pigeons. Both my wife and I got really attached to the little rascal, we both miss it, and this video hit the bull's eye!
had a similar story about a year ago, a bit older, but couldn't fly so we've had them ever since, it rules the house with an iron wing
Baby pigeons are not fed by their parents by putting the food into their beaks like other birds do, they don't open their beak voluntarily. The babies reach into the throat of their parents and eat from there. At the first time both parents produce some kind of milk in their throats to feed the chicks, later they give them predigested grains. Pigeon experts feed baby pidgeons with feeding bottles like in this (German language) video: ruclips.net/video/KVXyU5vXZ5o/видео.html
Alternatively you can hold the food between your finger tips and the baby gets its food out of there.
Only feed them grain or grain flakes, never any kind of insects, worms or cat food. Their diet is strictly vegan.
Nice! Thanks for being a good human ☺️
@@springheeledjackofthegurdi2117 I didn't realize how social these birds are. The little rascal would escape his cardboard box, go next to my feet, peck at my socks for a bit and then proceed to snooze next to me. It would go looking for us if we leave the room...
@@petar.stoyanov That’s so adorable. As domesticated animals I wouldn’t be surprised if they are genetically predisposed to be less averse to human company. They are some of our oldest friends:’)
I really love seeing the citations. A lot of channels don't show the studies they reference or rush through them really fast.
But there's no link of the song in description.... Song that played at the end. If know the name of the song then let me know
@@theshadow8900😂. There is a RUclips Short for the song - search for pigeon love or look through the channel's shorts list. you must be new here and are not acquainted with Ze's musical skills😂 he makes random songs about the animals he talks about - they are not official songs by any means!
@@theshadow8900 I think it may have been custom-written... The lyrics are a little too close to the subject matter of the video for it to be plausibly otherwise, at least without some serious explanation. :)
@@eliabeck689 yeah it's their original song I confirmed
"Pigeon Love" -- the B side to "Stuffin' Puffin Muffin"
Ostrich mating dance is the best of them all
I LOVE IT!
I mean it's no _Cricket (Cricket) That (That) Don't (Don't) Giva (Giva) F***_ but still, _MFin' Sexy Ostrich_ is dope.
im still waiting for all of them to be released on spotify
@@ascellaplays Full album
Once I witnessed a pigeon trying to mate a fake owl on top of a gas station. That fake owl wasn't focused on her job.
That one was definitely at the leg-humping-chihuahua level of horny
The fake owl is probably for scaring hawks not pigeons
We usually just went behind it, but to each their own, I guess.😅
Wow, way to victim blame. The fake owl couldn’t physically move from her job station and you’re blaming her for getting harassed
Okay, so Pigeons know the difference between a real or fake bird, maybe?
I have about a dozen or so pigeons who nest and congregate around my apartment, which they nestle in a closed off alley between my place and the next building. I’ve lived here for almost a year and have noticed some “regulars” who frequently stop by my window every day, the same time each day. Initially I thought they were unintelligent and dirty, but they are in fact sentimental and observant little fellas. I adore them. Thank you for sharing things I didn’t know about them before!
most animals don't stay dirty, or they'd be dead
"You don't puke in my mouth no more." Brilliant. Heart-warming.
Here some pigoen ❤
Wait until ZeFrank or a science hippy gets footage of rock pigeons going onto docks, pulling pieces of bark up, then waiting for a forklift or person to come by and snap them off for them without realizing it’s the pigeons making someone else make their nest materials
We really need a wildlife music album from you, your music is amazing
Or music on any topic
This is the best episode you have ever made…. “It’s bullshit. It’s VARN!”
This is THE ABSOLUTE EPITOME of humor!!!!!!!
It was refreshing... some normal human humor... not usual AI, agenda, PC, propaganda and so on.
You know, I never have seen a pigeon baby before. They're much more yellow than I'd have expected. Thanks Ze Frank.
Also, "Do a little dance, make a little love, get down or a stick for the nest" was brilliant.
They are commonly eaten in fancy restaurants. "Squab"
sadly, my roommates and I had to (ahem) rid our balcony of pigeon babies. the entire place was covered in, well, pigeon poop and they had decided it was their place. no. it is not their place. we have to keep chasing them out. "go to the neighbors! they can afford to keep the poop off." Oy.
"Do a little dance, make a little DOVE!" Come on Ze, it was right there!
“Get down tonight!”
💯%
My grandpa back in the 80s and 90s raised homing pigeons in southern utah. I love the songs they make. Lots of fond memories it brings back to me. I used to feed and watch them as a little kid. They were sweet little featherheads.
Ze, my cat sat through the WHOLE EPISODE. He's still staring at the screen. I think you hit one out of the park with this episode.
"What's the cat doin'?"
@@jean-bastienjoly5962 At the time, he was hanging out on the corner of the bed and staring intently at the screen. No chittering or anything.
My cat loved videos like that too, I bet your cat is thinking "how can I use that cleverness against them?" Or other cat-world domination thoughts!
truly, this is the best and most objective measure of a video's greatness. I bow down to your cat's wisdom.
@@slwrabbits Can I stop you in mid bow for a moment to point out this is the same fluffy arse who has costed me almost $4,000.00 USD between two sets of vet visits for eating foam rubber stuff... He did this TWICE. You'd think he'd learn his lesson the first time he was cut open. And it was almost exactly a year apart, too. He's not that smart. And I used to say he was the smarter of my two cats. Don't know about that anymore.
Mr Frank, it just so happens that a pigeon has been nesting underneath my back patio chair the past couple weeks, guarding 2 eggs, and AS OF THIS MORNING, the bébes hatched!
Your timing could not be more perfect, sir. Well done.
Mazel tov!
Pigeon bebes!
get ready for some serious puking action. There was a pigeon baby outside my window that was getting puked on so much by its parents trying to feed it that it can't even eat it all, and the ledge was just covered in puddles of pigeon puke. And shit.
I had a pet pidgeon. My little son with autism was growing up a bit with her and she was most caring, sweet and fun animal I ever had in my life. They were chasing around the house, she insisted to see him in the morning drinking his milk and she was whole time on my shoulder lightly pecking my ear 😂
He is now 7y old and he still try to pet any pidgeon he sees thinking it's her.
❤
I’ve had a relationship with the crows in my area for years, but recently I’ve become acquainted with a pigeon I call Gabriel and I’ve seen him build his nest under an awning next to my job. This is the second brood I’ve seen him sire and for the first time a few weeks ago I saw what looked to me like the parents teaching the new fledglings how to fly in a flock. I’ve gained a new respect for these birds, Gabe always comes to me and helps me clean up while I set up the patio 😂
That's so awesome, how does Gabe (the presumed Pigeon) help you clean?
@@MystralThunder Yes Gabe is the pigeon. I work at a restaurant, and he will pick up all the scraps and crumbs while I get the tables together 😂. A lot of people have seen him just follow me back and forth out front and think it’s cute. These pretty ladies stopped and asked his story once, so he’s a certified wingman too 😝 🐦 ♥️
10:40
I'm a driver for a racing pigeon club. Our longest race is 500 miles. I drive the pigeons 500 miles away, and they fly home.
We fly 100, 200, 300, and 500 mile races. They always beat me home 😂
So freaking rad. Birds are the best.
@@samhiatt I totally sgree
That's probably because they take the shortest path, "as the bird flies" 😂 ba-dum dish
That is honestly really impressive
@@Greentrees60 Not as much as your selfishness and narcissism.
did you chose where when yo be born?
Did you choose your set of genes?
Did you choose,,, oh, I don't know, not have a work accident, not been born blind or autistic?
Or not to get overly intoxicated by lead from drinking water which impair cognition and alter behaviors.
You've been exceptionally lucky, but believe you are better than others.
So yeah, stuff it you know where.
What an incredible experience! It's amazing how witnessing moments of animal care and devotion can completely shift our perspective. Those pigeons showed such remarkable parental dedication, going to great lengths to protect their chicks from the scorching heat. It's heartwarming to hear how your coworker also pitched in to help with a little fan. Moments like these remind us of the profound bonds and instincts that exist in the animal kingdom, and they definitely deserve recognition. Thanks for sharing such a touching story! 🕊💕
you do realize you didnt reply to the comment?
OMG…the closing song..”You don’t puke in my mouth no more…getting shit on from above…I think this pigeon love is gone..” I am rolling! Thank you Ze…I needed this so badly today..❤️❤️❤️
I want the pigeon song.
@@WadeAlma I can't find it but if you do please let me know.
They purposely didn't added the song in the description so we could comment on this video😂
First Casual Geographic, and now Ze Frank. It's so great to see pigeons starting to get the appreciation they deserve. Also, "Pigeons can make children cry, with science!" is Ze Frank's best out of context quote yet.
absolutely! humans did these poor babies so dirty. thank you for spreading pidgeon awareness, frank♥️🐦
One step closer to cross over episode, yes.
"Pigeons can make children cry" is a well-hidden Casual Geographic reference
I love pigeons mainly because as a kid, dad had all white tumblers/rollers. So beautiful flying in blue sky. I have had fan tail and some mix breed that I hand fed after mother and dad got eaten. Yea with a syringe to mimic pigeon milk. Took lots of time. Look it up if you dont know pigeon milk but basically regurgitated food to feed chicks. Spent lots of time with them to end up as more cat food. Stupid stray cats ruined that for me! Got them all!
Agreed! I work voluntarily for a local pigeon rescue, where we not only help injured birds, but also swap their eggs with fake eggs to help slow down population growth (which sounds barbaric at first, but considering pigeons lay up to 9 clutches, each containing 2 eggs, PER YEAR, it's sadly the only form of population control that doesn't involve killing birds) and we also help educate on pigeons, such as their literal urge to lay so many eggs, even when starving, since humans have bred them to do so. Or how pigeons can't just be relocated, since they are loyal to where they live and always try to return. OR how they don't actually transmit diseases (unless you basically eat their poop directly)... at least not unto humans or other mammals, but instead onto other pigeons.
There is so much misinformation on pigeons out there. Calling them rats of the sky when we humans are the ones who made them into what they were once they lost their use for us is just... unwarranted and unfair. Pigeons do not enjoy eating fries and human vomit. They are super clean animals, so they don't enjoy being covered in dirt. They are really intelligent and don't deserve to be chased or kicked around.
Even to those humans who don't like them regardless, please t least don't abuse our local city chickens. They are nothing more than former pets who have to survive on the streets, like street cats or street dogs would.
10:14 "Compare that with the zero degrees covered by a dead pigeon!"
I live it when you make me laugh hard enough that I have to pause the video.
Fun fact. The pigeon pattern recognition is so good that during WW2 US experimented with pigeon guided anti ship bombs. The pigeons would be put into a box and trained to peck at ship silhouettes. The placement of the pecks onto the screen membrane would then be translated by the bomb into guidance adjustments. This worked very well in testing but in the end US didn't adopt it.
There was also an attempt to train pigeons to detect people lost at sea not too long ago. They were more accurate than the computers, but it was also not implemented.
Animal rights people would have had a field day with the torpedoes. I remember reading about that somewhere. With finding people at sea, the ship would have to stop, release, and wait. Otherwise they wouldn't find their way back. They would lose LoS but remember the position from geomagnetism.
AI generated comment. Downvote it.
@@peppermintgal4302 How can you tell?
It wasn't adopted because pidgeons couldn't tell the difference between allied and enemy ships
6:30 "Have you ever been in a box with a banana? Might be kind of overwhelming, going through the life choices you made that led you to that moment." LMAOOOO
Too accurate! 😮
11:02 That's a legit hit!
One thing's certain: If you want a pet bird get a pigeon instead of a parrot.
Costs ya an hour's worth of work rather than a month's, It won't outlive you, you can playfight with it without losing flesh, it definitely wants to cuddle with your more, doesn't make any high-pitched sounds that annoy every family member, neighbour or discord friends, and if it flies away by accident in all likelihood it'll come back (well if you get them young, adults will also return, just not to you - from personal experience).
I love that you keep calling the people whom help making the episodes ‘science hippies’.
Well, that's what they are called. Now.
I have a pigeon visiting multiple times a day on my balcony, watching me work on my computer in the office. No doubt it's a government owned robot.
"And they have a field of vision that covers 340 degrees. Compare that to the 0 degrees covered by a dead pigeon"
Thank you ZF. That really puts things into perspective 😂
Here's a question I'm suddenly wondering... If 360 is the 2D complete field (a circle), What's the 3D version (a sphere)? Is it just 360*2, or is it 360*360?
Which, coincidentally, is more perspective than a dead pigeon has.
@@auricstorm If you draw a square that's one meter on a side on a flat surface, that's one square meter. If you draw a square that's one degree on a side on the surface of a sphere, that's a square degree. Just like you need square feet/meters to measure a flat surface, you need square degrees/radians to measure the surface of a sphere.
A whole sphere has a surface area of 4π square radians, which is just over 41,000 square degrees.
@@Burevix Dunno about that. The dead pigeon already knows the answer to the Big Question, so its perspective is nothing to scoff at.
@@auricstorm You are probably thinking about the steradian en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steradian
I watched this with my mom and now she’s wandering around the house singing “he don’t puke in my mouth no more…”
…
THANK YOU ZEFRANK! More people need to appreciate pigeons. Just the other day I went to a volunteer group to learn how to catch them when their feet get tangled and safely free them. They’re the most wonderful little things and the way they’re generally treated is so unfair.
They are just so filthy and disgusting when they get so dirty in the city; and they supposedly spread disease as well (f.e. people are not allowed to clean up their feces without a full on hazmat suit). Why/how do they get so dirty and unwell-looking anyway?
I did it once by instinct in Barcelona...people were feeding some feral parrots in a park, of course there were pigeons around but mainly ignored and gathering left overs from parrots. we were feeding the pigeons and noticed one with feet tangled...both of them horribly...I know their eye sight, which is amazing, went to small blind spot, got him..there was a guy feeding parrots that helped me untangle the poor guy..rewarding experience and amazing that there are this kind of workshops...
It's a long shot, but what is the name of the volunteer group, or how did you find it? Google provides lots of "pest control" sites when I search for things like that, which is not in the least helpful. I've always wanted to help the pigeons in train stations that have tangles all over their feet, and I almost tear up when I see birds with amputated toes.
@@ivyannanet try looking for “stringfoot (pigeon) rescue” or something like that! I’m a little hesitant to give my own location beyond stating that I’m in the UK :’D but I hope that helps!
I think I might absolutely need that pigeon love song on Spotify lol
One thing I'll always love about Zefrank is that he constantly gives off the energy that some of these videos just come from him perusing Jstor and going, "wait, this research paper is about them training a pigeon to do WHAT?" and boom, video content.
did you also know that columbidae are one of the few bird families that evolved the ability to use suction to drink? most birds have to hold the liquid in their beak and manually tilt their head back to swallow, pigeon’s beaks don’t even need to leave the water. could you imagine relying on gravity to drink?
It turns out "it turns out the white tern turns out" turned out to be the best line in the video for me and now I'm wanting a full video on terns! 😄
The writing for this channel is endlessly brilliant- great work again, Ze Frank!
“I almost died of nerd.”😂
I just got to that lol
I am sooo stealing that line
🤣🤣🤣
i loled. And I never lol.
so wild to imagine now common animals in their natural habitat. now it looks so weird to see a pigeon on a cliff, as if they were trying to find a city-adjecent habitat.
same with chickens being jungle birds. just looks so funny to see in such a different context then youre used to
Have you seen mourning doves before? They are very similar kind of bird. Pigeons are actually domesticated from wild rock doves
We need a longer version of "pigeon love", please
For a while, the building next to me had a roof problem so there was almost always a great deal of water. I thought of it as the roof lake. I would pull up a chair to watch the pigeons in that lake. There were the "I'm just here for a bath" as well as tons of courtship dancing. Little fights between pigeons and starlings. In the morning I would watch them and couldn't get the idea of club med out of my head. I was truly sorry when they fixed the roof.
Haha! But if they didn't, it could have turned into a roof waterfall.
I'm the 'crazy pigeon guy' in my town and honestly they're amazing little birds and they all have unique personalities, for instance there's a specific one who will just come and sit on my shoulder, no food needed, and they can pick out who is kind or unkind towards them and will avoid the latter.
Being stuck in a box with a banana sounds like an upgrade to me, the furthest I got was being stuck in a box with someone asking me annoying questions and telling me how much I suck. That pigeon is going places I tell you.
Pigeon fancier right here!
Do you know that some pigeons breeds are known for specific acrobatics styles? Some dive and corkscrew like they have been shot in 1 wing and will spin so fast that they make figure skaters look lame. Some dive like a pencil closed wing for thousands of feet (15K+ feet) and only open their wings to pull out of terminal velocity at about 100 feet and they sound like a rocket ship passing with the roat of their wings?
Some so forward flips over and over, some do back flips over and over, some do back flip roll to reverse then invert flip forward roll to forward direction on repeat over and over!
They are pretty amazing acrobats. These breeds are not as good at homing as racing pigeons though.
Sounds like they do acrobatics for fun!
I know some other species do too, but it's always cool to learn about!
@@Firesgonethey don't do it for fun. They're bred to do that, but it comes from genetic fuckups, so its not good for the health of the pigeon. Their balance is fucked and some get so messed up by these breeders, that they just roll on the ground. Its abusive, but many people don't realise since they don't know why the animals are doing that.
@@Firesgone Donnick, Tumblers, Rollers, Wooders, Danzigers
@@jeffery9543 actually you are incorrect. This is something that they do for fun and it does NOT stuff up their balance and it's not caused by genetic stuff ups either?
It's caused by selective breeding for the desired traits; but most have been caused by accident? Just something that the a some birds started doing? The birds are definitely not balance or impaired in any way, in fact most of the birds that are the best at performing are usually have heightened balance and eye sight because when they perform their "stunts" they also need to look out for predatory peregrine falcons. My pigeons would often do tricks in front of the falcon sometimes?
Any bird that i owned that showed signs of genetic restriction or abnormalities never would be allowed to breed, I wouldn't allow it?
The donnick breeds in particular have been known to have some birds so intense with their tricks that they don't pull out and may crash into trees; however this is because these birds haven't learnt to counter spin to prevent giddiness. I never had this problem with my birds because they were OCD and would do the exact number of spins 1 direction as they do the other 👍
I'm also an environmental scientist and know lots about genetics and breeding of animals. I can assure you that you've been misled if someone has told you this?
I misspellined the breed name donnick when it is meant to be Donek
Here is an example of them performing, although I've seen thia breed do much tighter corkscrews? The birds i used to have would maintain more synchronicity (they would all dive together) and kept a much tighter pattern so as to avoid unintended collisions? There is also some benefit to individual bird performance when there is a smaller flock; they become more daring and wild so the performance is dialled up to 11....... Because they have all got more room between each other. Their movements are more fluid as they aren't trying to avoid each other as much? The result becomes more expressive performance (as if to compensate for having less birds needs to be more wow?) less jolty counter movements due to avoidance means a much more focused performance on their trick rather than crashing. It's more fluid and they feel more "on show" so there is more competitive behaviour to "out spin" each other.
So in this clip keep in mind the guy is running a much bigger flock so it looks very chaotic and messy. Note: there is 1 bird that did a tighter spin than the rest, that would be medium grade in my flock i had growing up 😉
ruclips.net/video/PtLYixC_Eo4/видео.html
Try arguing that these pigeons aren't doing it for fun?
A bonus people don't talk about is that Pigeons must be perched in order to defecate due to how tucked in their feet are during flight, So they cannot hit and run you after doing a fly-by. Seagulls on the other hand.......
That's false. My car is always parked 3 meters away from any wall or tree and I guarantee you they still manage to shit on it.
Or maybe they go directly on it to shit ? But seems more likely to me that they fly over to our building windows. I have never seen a pigeon on a car where I live.
@@oneoranota Pidgeon and seagull shit are extremely similar so perhaps...... regardless, even if you aren't in a more seaside location, probably happens when they take off.
They always wait until I run right by them to take off and fly over me and I'm always worried they're gonna shit on me. Good to know!
@@ShioreviSeagulls beat pigeons in terms of quantity, by a large margin!
@@oneoranota are you sure that's pigeon poop and not some other bird?
We need an album with all your music, so we can all enjoy Puffin' Muffin' and Pigeon Love.
I mean it's no _Cricket (Cricket) That (That) Don't (Don't) Giva (Giva) F***_ but still
Don't forget the blue footed boobies!
Don’t forget “Koala in the Rain (No Fucks Given)”!
Found these videos through my Biology teacher in my freshman year of high school (2013) glad to see uploads are still coming
I started humming "you don't puke in my mouth no more" in public, and I blame you for this!
It’s surprisingly catchy! 😂🐦🎵
What's the name of the song?????
@@theshadow8900 It’s probably a Zefrank original. 🎶🐦😆
@@theshadow8900 Pigeon Love, by Ze Frank. It's an emotional classic!
@@danickale8469 I desperately wanted to listen to the full song 😢 if it's their original they should release this.
And here I was thinking pigeons were just government drones but turns out there IS evidence of a baby pigeon
Don't fall for the gov propaganda, they are spies! Lol
That's exactly what the government _wants_ you to think
they DID train pigeons to guide missiles and torpedos back in the day, so they are kinda like drones in a way
Birds aren't real
*baby drone.
One of our neighbors religiously feeds the pigeons. Whole flock of them fly around like clockwork when its time for him to go out.
One time a bedraggled fellow who was getting picked on by the others flew on top of our fence and stared at me for several minutes. I knew he was begging for either companionship or food, but had to shoo him away because I already have two abandoned cats who hang out nearly 24/7 in that yard and they are accomplished hunters. Couldn't risk it.
Word of warning though: the man who is feeding those birds ended up contracting some sort of leprosy from walking barefoot among all those pigeon droppings. He may yet lose it despite years of medical visits.
there's something hilarious about pigeons pecking at screens to get rewards. It's like they're at work or something 😂
Poor cubicle pidgies!
Fun fact: during world war 1, there was a pidgeon named Cher Ami. He was a homing pidgeon. He delivered a crucial message for the American Expeditionary Forces despite being injured. He saved nearly 200 soldiers trapped behind enemy lines, enduring injury during his heroic flight. He received the French Croix de Guerre Medal, a recognition of her bravery and service during World War I.
I remember hearing about that story!! 😁
First of all, HE, Cher Ami was a male homing pigeon. Secondly, he was an American soldier pigeon, not French. Thirdly, he was badly wounded when the germans targeted him with small arms and flack fire. He took shrapnel through the chest, had an eye taken out, and had one of his legs dangling by a tendon. He was a true badass bird.
@@hlessiavedon a true hero birb 🫡 🐦
is this an ai generated comment
Wing was almost detached, or it was a claw, can't remember, and still got the message through. Darn pigeon deserved a cigarette after that journey.🚬
09:42 - Oh look! A pigeon remembering the pattern: *Person - Woman - Man - Camera - TV.*
Well now you're making me doubt Ze Frank when he says their brains are as large as a walnut :-)
As a bass guitarist, the bass line for Pigeon love is the shit, ya know, like how the pigeons do… From up above…
I had to scroll too far down to find a comment on that masterpiece...There should be a full version made
@get2dachoppa249 As a guitarist I love the fact that pigeons are properly called Rock Doves. To science Hippies like me. Seach Rock Doves.
@@brianbrian1769 As a New York City native, and a science nerd myself, AND as an individual who has been shat on from above just like in the song, I am familiar with the genealogy of these rats with wings.
Your unreasonable amount of creativity with the ending songs never fails to amuse me. ZeFrank1 End Song Album when?
This one is particularly hilarious. Just tickles my nerdy and hippie funnybones. Thank you so much for the guffaws!
Also, I really love the "Pigeon Love" song. It needs its own video! I actually went searching to see if there was one, but no... 😢
Lyrics:
"you don't puke in my mouth no more
you don't drag its tail on the floor
I think this pigeon love is gone
I think this pigeon love is over
Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above
Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above
you don't puke in my mouth no more
you don't drag its tail on the floor
I think this pigeon love is gone
I think this pigeon love is over
Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above
Pigeon love, we're getting shit on from above"
(this is how i'm showing my support for a full length song)
Pigeon: have a GPS level of navigation in their brain and can be as smart as crows for problem solving
Also pigeon: will built their nest in the dumbest places and will not see the danger of a predator.
If I was a pigeon then I would enjoy having you as my "predator."
It's like a scientist. Smart people can be the dumbest morons ever.
Lol that's so true
Absolute truth
All the brain power went to the gps
Massive new appreciation for the intelligence and complexity of pigeons. Birds are all so amazing and have evolved a lot since their dino ancestors. Thanks for helping me continue to appreciate the natural world even when I didn't think I could be in awe of it any more.
'Do a little dance, make a little love'. 😂
Song at the end was best of course! 🤣
Aren't those lines nicked from 'Get Down Tonight?'
@felixjones9198 No no, it’s actually from the song “get down & sticks tonight”. 🙃
@@felixjones9198 'KC and the Sunshine band' from 1975.😁.
@@moiragoldsmith7052 - ZeFrank 2024.
I like the thing the coast guard has where they trained pigeons to peck at safety orange then put them in a little glass dome on rescue planes to search for lifeboats.
I lost it at the 7:09 delayed dance
LMAO, sound like you couldn't hold you laughter too
But seriously, that bit it's and amazing way to explain science in lay terms
“It’s bullshit, it’s Varn.” 🤣
Zefrank isn't varn though 😉
@@ianmacfarlane1241 - Unvarned truth!
pigeons really are the nicest birds i've encountered. and pretty smart too. one learned who i was and that i'd share my lunch with it. in turn i got to watch a pigeon for an hour and be far more relaxed. wonder where that bird is right now *knocking sounds at the window*
This will probably get buried but there's a study done where scientists tested pigeon's navigational abilities. They took two pigeons, used anesthetic on one of the pigeon's beaks to block out it's sense of smell. The other pigeon was left unchanged, so it could still smell. Both were released from the same location. They put GPS trackers on both.
The pigeon with the numbed beak took a long, meandering and circling flight path. Clearly got lost. It only seemed to find it's way home around when the numbing would have worn off.
The other pigeon took a very direct flight path home and was home hours earlier.
I believe this throws into dispute being able to see Earth's magnetic field, or that pigeons rely solely on visual information when navigating. They still don't think it's scent alone, but that some complex navigational information is transmitted through the beak for sure.
There's another video on YT documenting this study. Fascinating stuff!!
Apparently pigeons were so effective at making their homes on the ledges of buildings because they originally nested on cliff edges.
I've always had a special place in my heart for pigeons after learning they were domesticated animals used to send messages but once the telegraph was invented they were no longer needed for that purpose and were released in droves. It's almost like they keep waiting for us to reclaim them as pets
Definitely the best closing song since Koalas in the Rain.
No fucks given!
KOALA KOALA!!!
(I REGULARLY have that song stuck in my head, and totally rock out to it!!! 😂)
No fucks given!
KOALA KOALA!
I REGULARLY have this song stuck in my head & totally rock out to it! 😂
The head move fact was neat
I saved a lot of birds in my lifetime. And the one thing that always strikes me whenever I save a pigeon (no matter the subspecie) is that they are ... Absolutely innocent. Never will they try to hurt you or attack you.
For instance no matter how loving or smart a baby crow can be once it understands that you are anything but an ennemy .... You still have to put your hand in that box and let it peck your hand to it's heart content, for it is afraid and feels the need to not go down without a fight (understandable - in their situation I don't think we'd have the balls to fight such a giant for our lives). They soon become absolutely trusting and loving birds but .... Pigeons are different: they are innocent from the very start. Be it an adult or a youngling, they seem to lack any aggressivity, which doesn't prevent them from being very clingy (especially when you forget to file their nails) - yet even if they do not have the same intellect as a crow or an owl .... You cannot stop but feel touched by their blind trust.
So whevener I hear people saying that they are flying rats (rats are cute AF but whatever) it makes me wonder why people hate them so much. How can you hate creatures with this level of innocence?
Thank you for making people more aware that "the flying rats" are more complex than they look. And I hope that my comment will open at least ONE person's eye... Birds behave very differently from us, but trust me when I say that their logic is sound. Do not let a baby bird die on the street - if you hate burbz then call someone, but please - they are very sensitive creatures. You wouldn't let a child starve to death on the street, birds are the same thing and one does not exclude the other (I see you, "human first" folks)
The clip of the pigeon walking on the treadmill is freaking me out! Why are you doing this to me!?
Mind 🤯
That's a 3d animation
8:00 "Remember this is the 80s, everyone's on cocaine." Truer words have never been spoken!🏆😂
Man, I always have to stop and remind myself how your “The Show with Ze Frank” took young millennials like me at the time by storm (among other demographics I’m sure). You were a huge part of my growing up and emotional growth. Though times change, I’m glad we still have you around and your genius focused on animal education ❤
I am not a millenial, my kid is, but I found Zefrank one time when I was down sicker than sick and just laying on my bed watching videos about weird animal facts made me feel so much better!
@Wyattinous - I was going to make a snarky comment about that "animal education" phrase - ZeFrank being very versatile to educate people and animals, blah, blah, when I realized that Sapiens are animals, too! Sorry for the near insult. You are 100% correct.
As someone who's looking forward to adopt a rescue pigeon as a pet sometime in the near future, and someone who always delights in your videos and how informative they are, this episode was a delight!
Pigeons nest yearly on my balcony. I've seen eggs, that hatch and pigeons that grow all the way so they can fly and then they fly back from time to time just to hang out, and have also seen eggs that are just abandoned in the dirt, beneath the plants. It's like having pets once a year.
So, walking pigeons "head bobbing" is analogous to twirling ballet dancers "spotting"! Cool!
7:35 Slender Pigeon isn’t real it cannot hurt you, Slender Pigeon:
It was giving analog horror to me
Just gotta give him a lil suit and tie XD
I finished the video, and I'm still busy reckoning with the fact that pigeons don't *actually* bob their heads
It makes my day when I get notified when a new video is out from Ze Frank! I saw the description and started laughing and had to stop what I was doing to see what it was all about. Thank you for this, it also reminded me of the time at a local fast food restaurant there was this one pigeon that was there everyday and it was hurt, it dragged one wing and walked funny too, well everyone took pity on it and it got extra food and day by day this pigeon was there, then one evening it was doing its thing limping around eating and then it straightened up and flew off. People got the surprise of their life and knew they had been suckered by a pigeon!! This video reminded me of that, I had to share lol😂😅
My dad used to race pigeons. You drive a certain distance away, release pigeons you raised then go home. You time how long it takes them to get home and the fastest time wins.
I once had a professor who did a lot of studies involving pigeons and honest, he bobbed his head when he walked. We spent hours trying to listen, but it was difficult since.a great deal of mental effort went into stifling laughter.
Thank you for this video as somone who's been keeping pet pigeons there whole life and always getting asked why I liked the "sky rats" so much, it's refreshing to see such a nice video about them come out
Funny that you've had people call them sky rats as an insult when land rats are actually also amazing pets xD
@@curio_sphere Exactly, both pigeons and rats are adorable.
Look, maybe it's because I don't have to really deal with them since I'm not in a city but I've always loved pidgins. Their grey and white patterns are pretty and the irridesant feathers around their necks are beautiful.
pigeons are also very dedicated nest builders when given resources and a safe area. their nests are actually incredible
I've been tellin people for years how cool pigeons are- they make great pets too, they're bread to be companion animals, and they love cuddles.
"I almost died of nerd" is definitely a sentence that should be used way more often 😂
I also remember seeing where they use pigeons/doves to search for orange rescue vessels while flying around searching. Kinda cool thinking a pigeon could save your life while cast away.
pigeons are genuinely my favorite birds, i find them so unbelievably cute!!!
@BlackReshiram - I think that the iridescent ones are beautiful, too, strutting around in the Sun. The same with wild turkeys - with their iridescent colors in the Sun.
@@MossyMozart youre so right!!!
I'm so happy you've been making news songs for your videos again!!!
Would be nice to see a video about horses, they are seen as just the common farm animal that pulls plows and runs fast but there is a lot of pretty incredible stuff going on their bodies, their senses, their intelligence, and well the obvious their athletic performance. Learning about horses taught me that pigeons are some very underappreciated and incredible animals, i think horses are in some way in that position.
common farm animal? sounds like the US. my horse marauder people know horses are the best animals. they're not just intelligent, they're also very empathetic. for example just think about how nervous they get if you approach them nervously, that's empathy. and Lassie has nothing on horses, they're much better companions and are better at helping their humans when they're in trouble. that being said, i love dogs but horses are just amazing, they're something else
The channel ACCA (A Chick Called Albert) had a breakthrough recently; the guy has been going to fancy pigeon shows for over a decade, and got his dream: an egg. Pre-showing, breeders usually keep male and female pigeons apart, so if they lay any eggs during the showing, they're almost never viable. But this time? One was. He got to hatch and raise a free fancy pigeon, and that little bird has imprinted on him _HARD._ 😂☺🥰
that's why they're the perfect drones, people think they're dumb, which made them less suspicious
I'm very early in the video but that analogy for focusing on images during movement for scrolling is just such good science communication, well done Ze Frank
Frank, I forgot how much I appreciate your videos and didn’t even realize something had been missing from my life until my phone notified me of a new Ze Frank video. Haha 😂❤
I can, in fact, tell what tissue sections show disregulated growth indicative of breast cancer. But the fact that pigeons can do it too and possibly faster is still impressive.