This photograph was published online in an article in 'HOMEBUILDING & RENOVATING' on May 11th 2024, by Teresa Conway titled:
'' We asked the experts to explain how to stop birds eating grass seed - Don't let your hard work go to waste when hungry feathered friends come to call ''.
Homebuilding is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Future Publishing Limited are based in Bath, England.
It had previously been selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on April 30th 2021
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1314797925 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**, and became my 4,965th photograph published worldwide. I now have 7,000+ images with Getty Images.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Forty nine metres at 15:06pm on Tuesday 27th April 2021, of a Rock Dove or Feral pigeon (Columba livia) off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
They are a wild ancestor of domestic world pigeons. A common sight in UK gardens, and traditionally seen on London postcards of Piccadilly circus until the feeding of pigeons was banned, they can weigh up to 370g with a wingspan of 34cms. There are approximately 550,000 breeding pairs in the UK.
With a name taken from the Latin word for Dove, there are around 350 recorded types of pigeon, the commonest being the Feral pigeon with an estimated European population of around 15 million. They make up part of the group of columbiformes which includes the now extinct Dodo to which they are closely related. Wild pigeons live in coastal areas, whilst feral pigeons are more urban, and more often than not found in close proximity to mankind. Feral pigeons have a lifespan usually of between three to five years, much longer in captivity. Pigeons have an incredibly close link to mankind
They are possibly the first domesticated animal in history and Charles Darwin was one of the first and most famous pigeon breeder, who recognised their beauty and abilities. In the early 1800s the Rothschild family set up a network of pigeon lofts throughout Europe using homing pigeons to carry information between its financial houses. This proved to be the fastest and most efficient method of communication at that time, and the speed of the service and the ability to send and receive information ahead of the competition helped the Rothschild family amass a fortune, which still exists today. There are medals from 1870 commemorating the pigeon post in Paris.
Pigeons are highly intelligent, one of the few birds who can actually recognise themselves in a mirror, as well as being capable of learning the alphabet in trials. They have been used to predict the weather with hearing far superior to that of humans in the very low frequency range that allows them to detect incoming storms not yet on the radar. They can assist in message delivery, help in search and rescue missions and even carry wartime messages across enemy lines, dating back to Greek and Roman times, and then forwards to both World Wars by the British Intelligence.
During the first world war, pigeons were dropped from an aeroplane in batches in harnesses with parachutes in order to send and retrieve messages from the resistance. In history pigeons have been recorded as far back as 3000BC and records show that in the 5th Century AD, both Egypt and Syria used them to send and receive messages. Greek poet Anacreon wrote poems of his tame pigeon over 2000 years ago in which he described the bird's role in carrying a love letter to the poet's lover and how the bird drank from his cup and ate from his hand.
An archaeological discovery of lifelike pigeon images beside the figurines of the Mother goddess, dating from the Bronze Age (2400-1500 BC) in Sumerian Mesopotamia, links to worship also in Crete where the Goddess was depicted with Doves upon her head. Pigeons were also sacrificed to Aphrodite (Venus), the Goddess of love in Greco-Roman culture. The Dove was also the symbol of Demeter (Ceres). They are highly revered in religions including Hindu, Muslim and Sikh and Christianity. Some Sikhs will ceremoniously feed pigeons in honour of Guru Gobind Singh, a high priest who was renowned as a friend to pigeons. The Old Testament dove of Noah and the New Testament dove of the Holy Spirit are the ancestors of the dovecote birds of the past and today’s urban pigeons.
Pigeons have been recorded flying at more than 92mph and the average speed is around 78mph, they can also reach altitudes of 6,000 feet. Contrary to the rumour mill, pigeons are very clean birds and very little evidence exists to show that they can spread disease to humans.
Generally pigeons mate for life and both incubate and care for their young, and they are amazingly social creatures found in large groups. Pigeons have also saved lives on sinking ships by being released to alert nearby people, and some pigeons have received honours and awards for their part in saving lives. They have been trained to save lives at sea by recognising the red and yellow life jackets of victims, and even being able to view the UV spectrum. They can use landmarks to recognise and retrace routes, and use the sun as as a guide and an internal magnetic compass.
During a study in 2016, four pigeons built up a vocabulary of between 26 and 58 written English words, they could identify visual patterns and therefore tell them apart. The birds could even identify words they hadn't seen before.
Researchers at University of California Davis Medical Center put 16 pigeons in a room with magnified biopsies of potential breast cancers. If the pigeons correctly identified them as either benign or malignant, they got a treat, Once trained, their percentages of correctly identifying the biopsies was between 85-99% accurate.
These are magnificent birds that so often fall victim to mankind's prejudice and dislike. Take a look at their ornate, beautiful plumage, the many markings and differences in coloration, and think about their history and the incredible journey they have made through the centuries. Give them some love, they have certainly earned it!
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Nikon D850 Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/800s Aperture f/6.3 iso500 Hand held Tamron VC Vibration Control enabled on setting 1. Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504) (14 bit uncompressed) Focus mode AF-C focus. AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points.AF-Area mode single point. Exposure mode: Manual mode. Metering Mode: Matrix metering. White balance on: Auto1. Colour space: RGB. Active D-lighting: Normal. Vignette control: Normal. Nikon Distortion control: Enabled. Picture control: Auto (Sharpening A +1/Clarity A+1)
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid sport quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.12s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.36s
ALTITUDE: 49.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 90.7MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 47.90MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.20 (14/01/2021) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
