Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? It’s one of the key questions that continues to plague humanity.
If you haven’t been asked this earth-shattering question, we’ll repeat it so you have some time to mull it over. Have you actually ever seen a baby pigeon?
For most of us, it’s a resounding no. This seems utterly bizarre, considering how pigeons are basically everywhere you look. If there are so many adult pigeons knocking about, where are their babies?
Well, there’s actually a bit of science behind the answer to this. According to the BBC, feral pigeons (the gross ones we see in cities) are descended from wild rock doves, and share their secretive nature when nesting.
This basically means that pigeons go out of their way to hide their nests from prying eyes. The BBC also says that squabs (baby pigeons) stay in their nests for a really long time “as if ashamed of their appearance”. Hey – we’ve all been there. Sometimes when you’re not feeling fab the only course of action is hide out in your bedroom.
So when a squab emerges from their hidden nest after over 40 days of teenage angst, they don’t really look like babies any more. Hence the fact that no one can really claim to have seen a baby pigeon… until now.
That’s right, Alex Mayall genuinely had the good fortune to spot a baby pigeon in the exotic location of Vauxhall, south London.
Naysayers out there might argue that the pigeon is more of a pre-teen than a baby, but judging by the fluffiness of its feathers it’s definitely not a full adult pigeon. At least now we can put to bed once and for all the conspiracy theory that baby pigeons don’t exist.
