3:00 snapshot #1404: another happy pest control story (really)

[urbpan]

This is the 3:00 snapshot but it's the end of the story. Let's start at the beginning.


I had just finished assisting with a fruit fly issue in one of the buildings when I stepped outside and saw this. It's a pigeon (rock pigeon, Columba livia) but something is a little off with that color. All rock pigeons in North America are descended from captive animals, but this one was probably very recently someone's pet or property. Above the bill is a structure called the operculum (similar to the cere in other birds) which is not fully developed, indicating this is a very young bird (I'd guess 5 or 6 weeks).


As luck would have it, two Children's Zoo zookeepers came along just then. They went and got some small nets and a pet carrier (actually one of the red panda's carriers).
The pigeon was naïve enough to walk straight straight into one of the nets.


The bird was very calm in the hands. I brought it to the animal shelter, where they asked (as they do with all surrendered animals) if it had bitten anyone. I laughed.

Sometimes feral pigeons can be serious pests, fouling buildings with their nests and droppings. In a zoo or farm setting they can eat or contaminate a substantial amount of animal feed. I was pleased to help put this one up for adoption. It's not the first white pigeon I've seen at the zoo...