{"id":21875,"date":"2022-11-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/?post_type=purple_issue&#038;p=21875"},"modified":"2022-11-21T10:22:27","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T09:22:27","slug":"in-praise-of-pigeons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/2022\/11\/10\/in-praise-of-pigeons\/","title":{"rendered":"In praise of pigeons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center sans-serif intro\">It\u2019s time we learned to love our common garden visitor <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"no-tts wp-block-image article-in-image photo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1560\" height=\"1524\" src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/fc98b163-5177-43e4-a4db-d73a07a7e5a4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"no-tts wp-image-21874\" srcset=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/fc98b163-5177-43e4-a4db-d73a07a7e5a4.jpg 1560w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/fc98b163-5177-43e4-a4db-d73a07a7e5a4-300x293.jpg 300w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/fc98b163-5177-43e4-a4db-d73a07a7e5a4-1024x1000.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/fc98b163-5177-43e4-a4db-d73a07a7e5a4-768x750.jpg 768w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/fc98b163-5177-43e4-a4db-d73a07a7e5a4-1536x1501.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px\" \/><figcaption>Hawthorn and a plump woodpigeon: a cheering sight <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif dropcap\">BRITISH GARDEN BIRDS ARE SOME OF the most intensively studied in the world, with huge amounts of data from surveys such as the BTO\u2019s long-running Garden BirdWatch. Records from that project show woodpigeons are consistently among the top four species in gardens during winter, quite a change from decades ago. This is down to how much food there is for them now, as a result of intensive arable farming and garden bird feeding. They\u2019ll gladly feast on wheat, barley and cabbages, as well as seeds. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">While many people dislike seeing woodpigeons waddling across lawns or patios or perched clumsily on bird feeders, hoovering up seed intended for \u2018prettier\u2019 species, they fail to acknowledge their part in the pigeons\u2019 stellar success. Sadly, the super abundance of woodpigeons leaves us indifferent to their charms, in particular their wonderful five-note coo, so soft and mellow, yet throaty and rich. Surely, one of our very best bird sounds?<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"sans-serif article-byline\">  <strong>BH <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"footer\">PHOTOS: WOODPIGEON: OLIVER SMART <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s time we learned to love our common garden visitor <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":21874,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"30","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"30","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_30-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_30-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"December-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"December-2022","purple_external_id":"December-2022-30-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"December-2022-30-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000087238||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000087238||","purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.498","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.wildlife.498","purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.498","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.wildlife.498","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"58d61955-0ac4-406c-83f1-ab6f21d86b70","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-11-10T11:07:34Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"883790c8-a8d3-47b3-be09-250e7fd4be1b","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-11-16T09:12:32Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AiDeQyKjTR7O-CSUOf9S-Gw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[25],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/fc98b163-5177-43e4-a4db-d73a07a7e5a4.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"< 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time we learned to love our common garden 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