pigeon news stories on Newser

Pigeons Have Their Own GPS

John Johnson — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:21:05 CDT

It's no wonder pigeons are renowned for their sense of direction: Their brains function like biological GPS units, say two researchers. As Nature explains, scientists already knew that pigeons used the Earth's magnetic field to get around, but the new study shows for the first time how specific parts of...

World's Most Expensive Pigeon Sells for $328K

John Johnson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:54:55 CST

Who knew? A pigeon, apparently a very fast pigeon, has sold for a record $328,000, notes the Wall Street Journal . A Chinese tycoon named Hu Zhen Yu bought the Dutch bird in an online auction run by the company Pipa. It will presumably be a rock star in the...

Pigeons Ace Math Tests

Matt Cantor — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:56:35 CST

Don't let those blank stares fool you: Pigeons, it seems, are the math nerds of the bird world. Researchers found that the creatures can do more than count—they can handle numbers in the abstract sense, an ability never before seen outside primates, the New York Times reports. Pigeons were...

Drug-Smuggling Pigeon Nabbed

Rob Quinn — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:57:45 CST

Police in Colombia busted a pigeon narco-trafficker after it was caught trying to fly into a prison with too heavy a load. The bird, which is now being cared for by authorities, was found struggling to fly with 40 grams of marijuana and 5 grams of cocaine paste strapped to...

Pigeons Love to Gamble: Study

Rob Quinn — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 09:22:30 CDT

Gambling may be a fundamental part of human—and avian—nature, according to researchers who were surprised to learn that pigeons like gambling as much as people do. In the "pigeon casino" the researchers set up, trained birds given a choice of pecking a button that delivered three pellets every...

Hail of Pigeon Poop Ends Concert

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 10:09:34 CDT

Musicians for centuries have faced rotten tomatoes from disapproving audiences, but never before what faced the Kings of Leon on Friday night: Taking the stage for a show in St. Louis, the band was forced off after only three songs by a barrage of poop coming from pigeons in the...

Pigeon Detained on Suspicion of Spying

Caroline Miller — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:02:48 CDT

A pigeon was taken into custody by Indian police last week when residents along the border with Pakistan suspected it was involved in a spy caper. The bird wasn't bearing a message when it was caught, but it did have a Pakistani phone number and address stamped on its body...

PETA Protests Tyson's Pigeon Show

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:20:00 CDT

Shocking , we know: PETA isn’t happy about Mike Tyson’s upcoming pigeon racing reality show . The animal rights organization wants the Animal Planet show canceled, calling it “cruel” and insisting it’s all about gambling, not the birds. “That’s why people do it, to make money,” a rep says. “The birds often...

Mike Tyson's New Reality Show Is About...Pigeons

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:29:15 CDT

In what may perhaps be the strangest celebrity news of the day, Mike Tyson is getting his own television series…about pigeons. Animal Planet is teaming up with the former boxing champ for Taking on Tyson , which will follow his involvement with competitive pigeon racing, Broadcasting & Cable reports. “Tyson's passion...