The common pigeon, or Rock Dove, is an extremely adaptable bird that has successfully colonized nearly every major city worldwide. Pigeons are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they consume a variety of available foods. While their biology is fundamentally aligned with a plant-based diet, they do eat bugs as a supplemental food source rather than a primary staple.
Primary Diet: Seeds, Grains, and Plant Matter
Pigeons are granivores, relying primarily on seeds and grains for energy in the form of carbohydrates. In natural settings, they forage for the seeds of wild grasses, small fruits, and berries. Wild and feral pigeons also consume agricultural products like spilled corn, wheat, and other cereal grains from fields.
In urban environments, this preference translates into consuming discarded human food, such as rice, oats, and bread. While these sources provide quick calories, they are often nutritionally incomplete compared to a natural diet. Pigeons also consume vegetative matter like young plant shoots and tender leaves, cementing their classification as primarily herbivorous birds.
Invertebrates as Supplemental Protein
While plant matter provides energy, pigeons actively seek out invertebrates to satisfy their need for protein and fats, especially during certain times of the year. They commonly consume soft-bodied insects, small earthworms, and snails, which are easily ingested and provide a concentrated source of highly digestible nutrients.
Consumption of these creatures increases during the breeding season when adult birds have a heightened requirement for protein to support reproductive efforts. Invertebrates offer a richer nutrient profile than grains, supplying essential amino acids and lipids that are less abundant in a purely seed-based diet.
Unique Nutritional Needs of Pigeon Young
The necessity for high-protein supplements is driven by the unique way pigeons feed their young, known as squabs, through the production of crop milk. This substance is a semi-solid secretion produced by the sloughing of epithelial cells from the lining of the parent’s crop. Both male and female pigeons produce this highly nutritious substance, a process regulated by the hormone prolactin.
This crop milk is remarkably rich in both protein and fat, with protein content often exceeding 50% and fat content around 35% of the dry matter. Squabs rely exclusively on this secretion for the first few days of life, as it also contains immune-enhancing factors like IgA antibodies. Parents must ensure their own diet is nutritionally robust to synthesize this dense food source for their rapidly growing offspring.