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Pigeons of Town Lake
The common pigeons that we see were introduced to the United States in the 17th century. At some point between then and now, a group of them took up residence on the Hike and Bike Trail, where they enjoy watching joggers and cyclists and being fed by friendly humans.
Pigeons enjoy
chowing down on wheat, barley, oats, seeds, and the bread that humans feed them.
They need access to a good, fresh source of water for drinking and bathing. You can
feed pigeons birdseed (which they love!) and any kind of bread. Be sure to break it
up into small bits to they can swallow it: they Some of the pigeons on the Hike and Bike Trail (pictured left roosting on a nearby wire) include Pepper, Red (white with large red eyes), SnowFox (white with spots of brown and black), Copper (grey and copper colored), and Andante, the bold male who is quick to land on me when I feed them, Adagio (large blue stripe pattern male), Sleighbell (speckled with white wings), Giovanni (a young grey pigeon with brown), Florence (a black male with one white wing feather on the left wing), and more ...
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Pigeons (rock doves) are of the species Columba
livia. The only pigeons native to the United States were the magnificent
passenger pigeons, whose large flocks could darken the sky. But in the 1800's,
European settlers hunted these magnificent birds all the way to extinction. By the
turn of the century, humans had obliterated the species from the face of the earth.
Pigeons are highly intelligent and
have distinct personalities, each one differing from the others. They are very
social and live with their mates in colonies. The males have cute courtship
patterns. They fluff up their fur and show the lady-of-choice just how beautiful
they are. They do clumsy circular dances on the ground (technically known as the Pigeon
Cha-Cha-Cha) and follow the lucky lady around. Pigeons are often monogamous, and
both parents help out during incubation (usually 2 eggs for 18 days). Both parents
feeds the young from their crop until the baby can eat on his own. It takes about a
month before the little squeaker can fly well enough to be fairly independent.
Pigeons make good friends, good mates, but terrible parents. Because of this, many
young do not survive. They fall out of the high nests before they're able to fly or
even eat by themselves. 
don't have teeth!