Accroding to a conservation biologist with New York City Audubon Society, Debra Kriensky has the answer - and it’s actually pretty straightforward.
In a conversation with IFLScience in 2017, Kriensky explained: “By the time they leave the nest, they are already quite large and resemble adult birds more than they do chicks.”
Martin Fowlie from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) sheds light on the appearance of young pigeons in comparison to adult pigeons. he added: “Pigeons are born naked and need to grow feathers before they can leave the nest".
Those baby pigeons are just waiting in their nests until they reach the stage of maturity when they can independently flutter about.
“They remain in their nests until they are able to fly like other nest-building species.”
However, some species are rare, such as the rock pigeon (Columba livia Acosta), especially those that nest on ledges or cliffs. Because they live by the sea, they spend more time building their nests, and their young grow faster and appear less frequently than other birds.
Most young birds spend 2 to 3 weeks in the nest. During this time, baby pigeons can not only eat from their parents but also drink protein and fat-rich milk secreted by the mother bird. According to Devokitis, with the help of the mother, the baby pigeons will come out after three to six weeks at the earliest.
At that time, the young birds appear more mature than other birds when they leave the nest, and it is difficult to distinguish them from their parents.
By any chance, if you happen to come across a baby pigeon, it is probable that the unfortunate little fellow has fallen from its nest.
Kriensky said: “We do see a fair amount of babies that fall out of the nest before they are big enough to fly and fend for themselves".
“In those cases, chicks should be returned to their nest, a makeshift nest nearby if possible, or brought to a wildlife rehabilitator.”
