Do Pigeons Leave The Nest? 7 Facts You Should Know!

Piyali Das

Do Pigeons Leave The Nest? 7 Facts You Should Know!

The nest is the place where a little young pigeon is born and raised by its parent pigeons. Let us try to find out if pigeons leave the nest or not.

Pigeons leave their nest once they are big enough to fly in the sky. Nest is not a safe place for a long time, mostly because of the predators. That is why when young pigeons learn to fly they leave their nest behind. After reaching maturity they find their ideal partner and make their own nest. 

When do pigeons leave the nest?

Most pigeon species leave their nest at the age of 1 month or a maximum of up to 45 days after hatching. The timing varies from species to species. It also depends on the season they are born such as in winter the pigeons stay longer in their nest compared to the summer, spring or autumn. 

Do mother pigeons leave the nest?

In terms of parenting, mothers remain more involved in raising their young ones. Let us find out if mother pigeons leave the nest or not.

Mother pigeons do leave their nests. In the case of pigeons, both parents take responsibility for raising their young ones. That is why when the mother pigeon leaves the nest in search of food, the father pigeon takes care of the eggs or the young pigeons. 

How long do mother pigeons leave the nest?

As both the parent pigeons take responsibility to raise their offspring, it is crucial that how long the mother pigeons leave the nest.

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In most cases, mother pigeons leave the nest in the daytime in search of food while the father takes care of their squabs. Until the baby pigeons grow up as fledglings, one of the parents is always present in the nest to keep them safe from predators outside.

Do pigeons leave the nest at night?

Pigeons are not nocturnal birds. Though the vision of pigeons is light sensitive, their night vision is also not good. Let us know if pigeons leave the nest at night or not.

Pigeons do not tend to leave the nest at night unless they abandon the eggs or the father pigeon goes out in search of food but in this case, the mother pigeon must be present at the nest to take care of the eggs. This is because both the parent pigeons take responsibility to incubate the eggs in shifts.

Image credit: Common wood pigeon incubating the eggs in nest by Nottsexminer (CC BY-SA 2.0) from Wikimedia commons 

Do pigeons leave nest after eggs hatch?

After hatching, young pigeons remain in the nest until they grow up, become fully covered with feathers and learn flight. The father pigeon mostly teaches them to fly and they finally leave their nest. After the parents also leave the nest and make another one at the top of it, or beside the previous one.

In many cases, parent pigeons tend to make another nest even before the young pigeons fly away. If somehow they became unsuccessful in raising their babies properly they might change the place and make another nest far away. 

Image credit: Baby wood pigeon by NottsExMiner (CC BY-SA 2.0) from Wikimedia commons 

How long do pigeons leave the nest?

After hatching young pigeons take 29-35 days or 1 month to reach the fledgling stage, learn to fly and leave the nest forever. They never return to that place again and after reaching 6-7 months of age they become mature. They find a suitable partner for them and start making their own nest.

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Conclusion

Pigeons are one of the most common birds known for their excellent parental care behaviour. After hatching the young pigeons always remain secured by their parents and after a certain time when they learn to fly they leave their nest forever. Hope our article on do pigeons leave their nest or not will be helpful to you. 

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