where are the old pigeons?

i have been feeding some feral pigeons for the last three years or so.

some of them have disappeared over that period of time.

one of them is still here and from his greying feathers i can make out that he is old. due to his scissor beak and his difficulty in eating, i have consistenly fed him above all others.

but apart from this guy i cannot see one other single pigeon which is old with greying feathers.

one or two of the older ones which i fed with him (over the years) have disappeared. most of the others are younger. but even those which disappeared were not old as this guy is now.

so where are all the old pigeons? are they all dead? or do they go off somewhere when they hit a certain age?

appreciate the insights.

I'm sorry to hear that the older pigeons are gradually disappearing... there is a possibility that they may have moved to a new territory where there is more food (but considering that you feed them and have formed a bond with them, that's unlikely) or perhaps they were frightened away by building work, loss of nesting areas or hostile people shooing them away.
Unfortunately the life span of a feral pigeon, especially if they live in cities, can be very short, only 2 or 3 years -- compared with up to 20 years when they are safe and healthy.

I hope the ones you've been looking after will stay safe. Thank you so much for being an angel to them, and let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

If you are on Facebook, please join the Pigeon Angels page there, as I'm sure other members in your area will be able to give you good advice and support. This is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/groups/176239232007/