kaytothejee Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 I work just across the river from downtown Sacramento, California. Almost every day around noon, year-round, I see from my window a group of about eight or nine birds fly from Tower Bridge into West Sacramento and eventually back to the bridge. The bridge is lousy with pigeons and these birds look quite pigeon-like, but there are a couple of things that confuse me. The first is that these birds are all white. Blindingly white. They might have a different color bill, but as far as I can tell, they do not have a feather on them that is not pristine white. The second thing is that they are always together and never with any other color of bird. Are they just racist pigeons? I apologize if there is an obvious answer to this that I'm not seeing, but I haven't been able to find an answer to this by using identification tools and the like. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Welcome! See the seventh photo: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/id (I suggested this for someone else earlier in the week but I was wrong then. Maybe this time!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaytothejee Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 Thank you for the reply. I'm just curious why these particular birds are always together, never seen individually, and never seen with any other variant of pigeon. And that has been the case for about five or six years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Brain Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Welcome to Whatbird!! I live in north Sacramento and on a few occasions I have seen a small group of 5 or 6 white Rock Pigeons flying around. Most solid white ones I've seen are mixed with other colored ones, but a few times I have seen all white ones. I don't know anything about their social structures, if they tend to band in family groups or change groups on a whim (like where any particular group is headed at the moment, e.g.), so I can't give an answer as to why you would see these on a regular basis. Maybe @Pigeon can chime in and give you an answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 Domestic pigeons usually mix with any and all colors, however occasionally will prefer one of a close similar color. Why this group is banding together is unknown, UNLESS, these are captive birds that are being let out for training flights. They then know their own kind and will generally stick together. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 15 hours ago, kaytothejee said: Are they just racist pigeons? 9 hours ago, Pigeon said: being let out for training flights. So "race" pigeons rather than "racist" pigeons, the OP was close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 5 minutes ago, RobinHood said: So "race" pigeons rather than "racist" pigeons, the OP was close. They could be racing racists. Or racist racers. Or not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 I purposely stayed away from that one. Could be racing pigeons , yes,,,, Any bands on their legs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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