Faster
than a cheetah.
More muscle-bound
than a gorilla.
More agile than a
great white shark.
Swooping overhead.
Feasting on our streets.
What is it?
The pigeon.
An ordinary bird with
surprising super powers.
Their secret identity now
revealed, as pure pigeon
genius.
A pigeon's first
secret, super powered flight.
Their wings push
them up and forward,
in one smooth move.
Pigeons take off vertically,
and can even hover in mid-air.
All thanks to
their wing design.
Underneath their feathers is
a strong but flexible frame,
a lot like our arms,
upper arm, forearm, flexible
wrist, and finger like bones.
When they take off,
they get their wings up
as high as possible.
Then flap down really hard.
Pigeons spend 30% more power
getting off the ground than
when they fly in mid-air.
The wings become a stiff
paddle and push down huge
amounts of air.
When the
wings twist forward, the
feathers lock together,
thrusting even
more air downward.
At the top and bottom of the
cycle, the wings actually
touch.
On the up stroke, the feathers
spread apart into mini-wings.
Pushing down more air.
Lifting up the pigeon.
But pigeons need more
than just feathers to fly.
They need bones.
Hollow bones.
Pigeons have over
a dozen of them.
Strong, but light.
Tough enough to withstand
the pressures of flight.
Even at 50 miles an hour.
Coming
in to land racer 515, a
thoroughbred racing pigeon.
Pigeon races have been
around for centuries.
The prize money can be up
to one million dollars.
John Celia owns and trains
515 and his fellow racers.
Today, 515 flies 20 miles.
It's a work-out for
an important race.
How about some water?
Take a drink, go ahead.
Every training day,
John releases the racers
from greater and
greater distances, 20 miles,
40 miles, and 50 miles.
And every time, the pigeons
race home at breakneck speed.
Five minutes ahead
of the rest of the flock.
I think he's
gonna be a good time.
515 aced today's
trip in 20 minutes, averaging
50 miles an hour!
But the real race is ten
times as long, 200 miles.
515 must be in tip top shape.
Flying at 50 miles
an hour is hard work.
He'll beat his wings
up to 36,000 times.
His heart beating
700 times a minute.
That's about 600
times more than a person.
And they'll keep up
these speeds for hours.
For their size, pigeons are
one of the most muscle-bound
animals on the planet.
With huge chests.
Their flight muscles make
up 30% of their body weight.
Compared to only
20% for most other birds.
A pigeon's massive
muscles require massive
amounts of fuel.
That means lots of oxygen.
So every pigeon,
racing pigeon or park pigeon,
comes equipped with a very
special set of lungs.
Mammals get oxygen by pushing
air in and out of the lungs.
But the fresh oxygen gets
diluted by leftover
carbon dioxide.
Pigeons, like all birds,
have a different system.
Oxygen goes straight
into special air sacs.
It never mixes with
outgoing carbon dioxide.
So pigeons absorb more
oxygen than people do.
It's a truly
super-human efficiency,
high octane fuel
revving powerful muscles.
Come one, let's go!
John Celia calls
his racers home.
Like all pigeons, these
racers usually mate for life.
515 and his mate
live with 24 other pairs
in this luxury pigeon
apartment complex,
called a loft.
The couples know
which colorful door
means home sweet home,
roosting here for
their entire lives.
And on rooftops worldwide,
it's the same story.
Just like their dove
ancestors have always done.
Pigeons are actually doves,
a family of over
300 species worldwide.
Taking many forms.
And living in many places.
Especially in cities.
Pigeons quickly adapt
to new environments.
changing in just
a few generations.
Pigeon breeders
use this ability.
To make some
crazy looking birds.
Giant feathers.
Flashy colors.
Unusual birds.
Pigeon breeders have
created many different
kinds of pigeons.
They all look different,
but they all have one
thing in common,
they're competing to
be pigeon champions.
This is my
Australian saddleback tumbler.
He won national champion.
That means he's
the best pigeon of his
breed in Australia.
This is the 0-7
national champion.
And the Roman runts are
the largest pigeon breed there
is in the world.
I always say,
once you're bitten by
the pigeon bug,
it's there till
you're in the box.
In Melbourne,
Australia, they gather for the
biggest show of the year.
It's the Westminster
dog show, for pigeons.
And just like dogs,
pigeons are bred for many
different reasons.
Dr. Colin Walker
studies pigeon genetics.
All of these
wonderful breeds evolved from
just a single ancestor,
Columba livia,
the wild rock dove.
Breeders matched
up birds to create,
colors, crests,
beaks, and
feathered feet,
pigeons that
blow up like a balloon,
and pigeons that
don't look like pigeons.
Look at these
birds, aren't they amazing?
They've been bred
to have this enormous crest
over the top of their head,
so developed now that the
bird can't even see clearly.
And there's his
head, peaking in like that.
This is a Jacobin pigeon,
just one of many types here.
Bukhara
trumpeters are from Turkistan.
Normal feral
pigeons, of course, have no
feathers on the legs at all.
Look at the
muffs on this bird here.
It's so big
it's almost like walking
on a big sort of pizza,
a big dinner plate.
Scandaroons
are a 2,000-year-old
breed from Iraq.
It's really the
only breed that's been
selected for this huge,
downward pointing beak.
It's
quite striking.
But
genetic manipulation
is more than skin deep.
Medinas are known
as really pugnacious, almost
angry little birds.
Let's see how this guy goes.
They're like a little avian
Rottweiler; they virtually
guard the house.
Look at him,
isn't that unreal.
Frillbacks are a
centuries-old German breed.
In these, the
feather follicles all over the
wing have actually been
selected to grow a
feather in an unusual way.
So instead of the
wing being flat and
lustrous and water resistant,
they're actually
really super curly.
And these
birds occur in blue and red.
Oriental frills
are an ancient breed
from the Middle East.
The beak
is so short now through
genetic selection.
An incredible change from the
feral pigeon that we see
pecking around streets.
Some fanciers
breed pigeons for their
behavior, not their looks.
These are Birmingham rollers.
They look like
ordinary pigeons.
Until they start flying.
They fly as
a group, somersault
backwards in the sky.
They've been timed up
to 13 revolutions per second.
And they drop
anywhere between 6 feet
up to 50 to 60 feet.
It's an
aerial acrobatic show.
Stopping mid-air,
backs arched, wings tucked,
Birmingham rollers tumble
like Olympian gymnasts.
This extreme
behavior isn't natural.
And most breeds of fancy
pigeons could not survive in
the wild.
The Oriental frill's
beak is so small it
can't feed its own young.
The frillback's feathers
won't repel water to
stay warm and dry.
And the odd-flying rollers
are an easy target for hawks,
and tall trees.
So pigeons are bred in all
kinds of shapes and sizes.
But appearances
are only skin deep.
If you mate different breeds
of fancy pigeons together.
And after a few generations,
they end up looking like a
regular pigeon.
Other pigeon powers
include their super senses.
Their eyes and ears guide
them around and keep
them out of trouble.
Pigeons see the way we do.
They use both eyes to spot the
shape and distance of objects.
But
pigeons see far more.
Each eye also sees almost
behind their heads, giving
a 340-degree field of view.
So pigeons can spot food
whenever they touch down,
and at the same time spot
predators, like hawks.
Having eyes in the
back of their head.
Keep the pigeons out in
front, out of harm's way.
But these
specialized eyes can
do even more.
Pigeons can detect ultraviolet
light from the sun and use it
to help them navigate.
Pigeons also
have super hearing.
They hear sounds much
lower than human can,
200 times lower.
They may be able to hear
approaching rainstorms,
or even distant earthquakes!
So, great eyes,
ultra-sensitive hearing,
super-strong bones,
and huge muscles make
pigeons the surprising
champions of the sky.
But all these powers are
really used for one thing,
making baby pigeons.
Pigeons are
not only super powered.
They're super parents.
They both take
care of the kids.
Always watch out for them.
And mate for life.
And it
starts with a kiss.
Really. The female places her
beak inside the male's beak,
pigeon-talk for: "I do."
Then the male gathers
the materials, and the
female builds the nest,
just large enough for
mom and a couple of eggs.
10 days later,
every time, twins arrive.
With two chicks, at least
one is likely to survive.
The first egg hatches
in 16 to 18 days, followed
within hours by egg number two.
The babies are called
squabs, sightless,
helpless, and hungry.
But that's okay.
Pigeons have a
special nursing ability.
Both the mother and the
father can feed their chicks.
They make a high-powered
milk that's so nutritious,
the babies can double
their size after 2 days!
This super baby formula
is made in a sac in the
pigeon's throat called a crop.
It's a
food factory for baby.
Water and nutrients
combine into milky clumps,
super-charged
food with more protein and fat
than cow or human milk.
Laced with immunities
against disease.
And making the
babies grow big.
Really big.
Squabs eat almost their
own weight in pigeon
milk every day.
In just two weeks,
they're half the size
of their parents.
After 25 days, they're
nearly full-grown and
can feed themselves.
And after 35 days,
they leave home.
But Mom and Dad barely
have time to say goodbye.
They already have
another pair of eggs.
Most birds mate only
once or twice a year.
But pigeons
evolved a different strategy.
Thanks to living around
people, pigeons can find food
all year round.
This means pigeons can
have babies all year round.
Pigeon parents might
have six to nine pairs
of eggs each year.
Do the math: a single pair of
pigeons, and their offspring,
can produce over 50
cooing, pecking birds
in just 12 months!
These pigeon family
values aren't lost on
trainer John Celia.
Pigeons mate for life and
are very loyal to each other.
One week before the big
race, John removes 515's mate.
So 515 is left all
alone in his nest.
He won't look
for another mate.
He even defends his
territory against
interested ladies.
Finally, the day
before the race,
John reunites the pair.
Need to motivate your
little mate so we can get him
home quick,
maybe we'll win
the race, alright?
Go on in there.
But
only for a little while.
Alright, guys.
Now he
takes racer 515.
Separated once again,
missing his mate, Racer 515
should be motivated to fly
home as fast as he can.
Take one last
look, off you go.
It's time to race.
First stop, the club house.
Over a hundred
pigeons will race.
Time to enter my birds.
And every one gets
an official identifying band.
We fit him with a rubber
countermark that has a serial
number on it and this number
is also registered
on the entry sheet.
When the bird comes
home, this band is removed and
it goes into our clock and
stamps what time
the bird comes home.
Good, ready to go.
They're
loaded into the truck,
fed and watered,
for the overnight journey
to the starting line.
Everything's tied
up tight, good to go.
The racers get a
good night's sleep.
Then it's time to race.
Bridgeport, West
Virginia, 320 kilometers away.
In just a few minutes,
these pigeons will use another
one of their super powers.
They'll find their way
home from a place they've
never been to before.
It's an
internal drive scientists
call "homing."
Drop a pigeon almost
anywhere, even thousands
of miles away,
and they'll successfully
find their way home.
Many animals use their
own internal navigation.
Sea turtles cross the
ocean to find mating partners.
Salmon swim upriver to return
to where they were born.
But pigeons are in a
class of their own.
They roam the planet,
over great distances,
and always return home.
In West
Virginia, the race is on.
Pigeon 515 and a
hundred others circle
the release point,
get their bearings, and sprint
away over unknown territory.
Pigeons have a homing ability.
That's hard to beat.
One reason, they don't rely
on just one way to get home.
They have many
navigational tools.
Pigeons use
the sun like a compass.
They memorize landmarks,
like highways and buildings.
They memorize scent landmarks
too, the smell of the ocean,
a forest, or city.
They can navigate long
distances just by the
strength of these smells!
And scientists believe that,
like many migratory species,
pigeons can sense
magnetic fields.
On each side of the pigeon's
upper beak are hundreds of
magnetic-sensing crystals.
They create a
three-dimensional picture of
the Earth's magnetic field to
help pinpoint the
pigeon's location.
In other words,
pigeons have a built-in,
state-of-the-art GPS system.
Over Maryland, racer 515
combines all of these
navigational senses.
Sorting information from sights,
smells, sounds and magnetism.
Pushing his muscle-bound frame
to the max, driven by a
single-minded purpose,
to return home to
his waiting mate.
His wings pump
six times a second, his heart
races at 700 beats a minute,
and his lungs turbo-charge
blood with oxygen.
John Celia is counting on
515's pigeon super powers,
and his hard-wired motivation
to bring home the gold.
Come on, boy.
Come on, come on.
Out of the blue,
a bird rockets onto the
landing board.
Alright, lookie there!
It's number 515.
He's home!
Winner!
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Now every second
counts, the timer doesn't
stop until the racing band
goes in the clock,
locking in the exact time.
Three hours
and forty six minutes.
Oughta be a good time.
I think he's gonna be top ten.
Good boy.
In fact, 515 places
second, on his way to qualify
as a national champion.
But 515 didn't
race for a trophy.
It was the simple
desire to get home, to
reunite with his mate.
Swooping from buildings,
soaring around rooftops,
and leaving
their mark everywhere,
pigeons are all around us.
But don't hate them for it.
They're just doing
what they do best.
Flying.
Making babies.
And navigating the planet.
So the next time
you're surrounded by them
remember, pigeons
are extraordinary animals.
To live alongside
people requires a
special kind of animal.
An animal with
amazing super powers.
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