Sex and the Pigeon
Spring in New York City means different things to different people.
Flowers in this morning's spring snow.
The return of color to the city, buds and leaves, lengthening days, unpredictable weather – I could go on and on.But for me, it means pigeon sex. A few weeks ago, my air conditioner resumed its spring function as a pigeon boudoir.
Pigeons nest on ledges, tucked out of sight in the gap between my building and the one next door. They land on my air conditioner when taking a break from shared nesting duties. Sometimes a single pigeon commandeers the ac, but often a pair will land. Paired pigeons work together to incubate eggs and rear young. Perhaps one reason pigeon couples seem so deeply bonded is the frequency with which they have sex.
The light scraping sound of pigeon feet on metal and a particular deep rhythmic cooing make me look up from work to catch the unmistakable signs of pigeon foreplay: synchronized head-bobbing, followed by the female placing her beak in the male’s to be fed.
Foreplay
After a little more head-bobbing action, the female lowers her back until it is pretty much level with the surface of the air conditioner.
The male hops lightly aboard her back.
The female tilts forward and the male, with a great flapping of wings, manages to touch his cloaca (the all-purpose opening of both males and females) to hers for a moment.
Then he hops off and the two stand side by side for a second or two, surveying their domain.
A few days later, they’re at it again.
Getting on board
Contact
Disembarking
Afterglow
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Tags: mating pigeons, NYC pigeon, pigeon sex, pigeons on air conditioner, pigeons outisde my window, rock doves
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March 20, 2013 at 10:26 am
[...] more on the love life of urban birds: Sex and the City Bird Sex and the Pigeon The Pigeons Outside my [...]
June 2, 2012 at 9:30 am
[...] and the City Bird Sex and the Pigeon The Pigeons Outside my Window Urban Fledglings Share this:PrintEmailMoreDiggLike this:LikeBe the [...]
February 15, 2012 at 12:01 pm
[...] like to know more about the love life of urban birds, you may enjoy reading: Sex and the City Bird Sex and the Pigeon The Pigeons Outside my [...]
June 7, 2011 at 1:13 pm
[...] well, I felt a degree of attachment to the naive and ungainly trio. After all, I had watched the parents mate – repeatedly, I might add – on the air conditioner outside my [...]
March 25, 2011 at 9:05 am
Too funny – as Wild Bill says – great lab on your windowsill. Thanks for some insight into city birds! And for the chuckle this morning, still smiling.
March 24, 2011 at 11:51 am
Ah to be in nyc again (where all the action is)!
March 23, 2011 at 6:23 pm
Pretty funny! The will to procreate is right up there with breathing and food. That you have this pigeon laboratory right in front of you is pretty interesting. Kind of like looking into an ant farm?
March 23, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Lhude sing cuccu.
(Wrong season, wrong bird, but still somehow apropos, I think).
March 23, 2011 at 4:38 pm
pigeon porn!!! thanks for the laugh
March 23, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Ah to be a pigeon–sgain?