Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Ghost Pigeons



















Ghost Pigeons - the last enduring testament of a bird's life and premature death.

Recently, I've become aware of what I call "ghost pigeons, " the imprint a pigeon makes on a glass window of a building when it unwittingly flies into it. They are spooky and depressing and kind of pretty all at the same time.

Now that I'm aware of them, I see them all the time when I look out of the windows in downtown office buildings.

If you have any ghost pigeon pix, please post.


17 comments:

Anya said...

Are you sure they're all pigeon ghosts? Not some other birds?

And what is the whitish material they leave on the window? Pigeon dander? : )

Thanks for posting these!

Anonymous said...

Bill,

I have 6 cockatiels and they make these kind of imprints on my sliding glass door all the time.

Don't make the mistaken belief that the birds are killed when they run into a building.

The "imprint" is due to the "dander" from where the feathers attach to the body. It's a combination of skin and the feather (quill end). The dirtier ones just need a bath :)

Usually the worst thing to happen is that they break a beak, this means that they will have trouble eating.

Andy M said...

Here's one of mine. I don't know if it's a pigeon, but it is a bird, and I saw it hit. It's on a bus. Feel free to post the image if you like.

'len said...

So beautiful and, please pardon the pun, haunting...

Eve said...

http://mnartists.org/tourHome.do?action=start&rid=138472

I first noticed them as a child. They're fascinating.

Anonymous said...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quarteredndrawn/143430135/

another bird ghost.

Anonymous said...

I have a brilliant shot of a 'ghost pigeon' but it wasn't a pigeon it was a butcher bird. I live in Australia and have been noticing this beautiful phenomena for a while now.z
Unfortunatly I don't know how to upload a picture onto your page...

Joe

mark said...

here's one:

http://flickr.com/photos/markgallagher/11291114/

PITA said...

I also have a couple photos better than the one posted (in my opinion)but don't know how to upload them.

Anonymous said...

There is a skyway downtown St. Paul that is covered in ghost pigeons. Probably 15 or more on one side alone. I'll post some pics soon!

Anonymous said...

Here's mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brew/2757660794/

Anonymous said...

Here's one of my own:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sansbury/2439764056/

Sonny Malhotra said...

http://flickr.com/photos/sonny6/2900318198/

That's my one, first time I've seen one.

Anonymous said...

The imprint I remember most was in a circular stairway in a hotel in Haiti. Glass all around, and there was a distinct imprint where two birds flew into the glass side by side - apparently a pair of birds flying together.

Anonymous said...

I have taken some similar pictures

http://bp2.blogger.com/_fcLO5fmbQqg/R1fy_t3DeqI/AAAAAAAAAZM/X3xaOMBhFB0/s1600-h/14102007094.jpg

from this site

http://delicatesituations.blogspot.com/

amazingly similar photographs

enjoy

jon

Anonymous said...

This one was left by a Kererū, our fat native New Zealand pigeon.

http://www.chriscourt.net/art/splat_1280.jpg

best
Chris

Unknown said...

That's an interesting observation. I never saw this before.

You guys might enjoy this article on the matter -http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1080505/Revealed-The-pigeon-life-real-pane.html

(Daily Mail, Oct 25 2008).

Also, I think the imprint may be caused by the grease on the bird's feathers. The grease causes rain to pearl off the feathers, so the birds don't become soggy and heavy during rain.

Regards,

Daniel