Hello from Bangkok!

Very puzzling... I've never experienced anything like that. I agree with Cindy that a predatorial human wouldn't have let them go. It could be a kid's prank, maybe, or someone doing it to distinguish the pigeons for a few weeks, but no idea why, except maybe to study the movements of a feral across the city and the extent of his territory...

I suppose they could have set a trap, such as the old string tied to a stick holding up a box. It is a mystery. Big Red is already very distinctive looking. No one else resembles him. Even Baby Red looks mostly gray.

But the good news is Big Red's tail is visibly starting to grow back. Not much yet, but something is happening back there. If it keeps going at that rate, I'd estimate he'll have his tail back in about a month. I wonder if someone will cut it off again.

Baby Red finally showed back up yesterday morning, but I was unable to feed him, due to the presence of too many grays. Haven't seen him since. One that seems to have moved on was the aggerssive new baby male who appeared a few days before we left last week. That's good, because we could tell he was going to be trouble. Very small and sweet-looking but would suddenly attack any pidgee close by.

Don't you just wish that Big Red could speak? Yes, his tail will grow back soon, and he'll be none the worse for it. In the meanwhile, it will be a little harder for him to steer in mid-air and to stop, but no major problem.

Some pigeons are just more aggressive than others, even at a very young age. I've seen that happen with some of my local feral squeakers, who then grow up to become alpha males. Sweets and Boss, who would stop at nothing to get at the seed first when I fed the ferals, became exactly that.
I like that, because confident, aggressive pigeons are always the first to approach humans, and the last to be caught!

At least a quick grab would be less bizarre than someone cutting the tail off.

Some more photos from that last batch I uploaded that included Big Red's tailless shots. All of these were taken between June 17 and August 10:

Boots gives her sweety, Bruiser, a head massage.

Big Henry. He's been hanging around for two years this month, I believe.

Specklehead.

Lucy/Ichabod, now missing and presumed dead.

Big Red and Mint kissing. And then, um, exercising their marital rights exactly 11 seconds later. Note the spectator to the right.

Mint in the dining-room window.

An anonymous gray all puffed out and on one leg. Odd little guy.

Baby Red, with Henry and Ladyboy. He's come by once since we returned from the beach a couple of weeks ago, and we couldn't feed him then because of the presence of too many grays. Guess he doesn't find us that reliable anymore. We think he may be the offspring of Big Red and Mint.

Here's Broken-Wing Sammy, with Baby Red and an anonymous gray. His right wing always drags like that, but he does not seem hurt and can fly okay.

Henry lounging.

Specklehead balancing on top of one of the small plants. Note the small pidgee in the lower left with some white splashes on its face; it only showed up a couple of times.

Baby Red and a snoozing Ladyboy. Ladyboy must be about a year old now; she first appeared last September, so must have been a squab a year ago.

Broken-Wing Sammy again, and again with Henry and Ladyboy.

Bruiser and Boots, um, exercise their marital rights.

Mint strikes her best pose. Note her little foot just poking out of her white underside.

A new dirty-whiteish kid.

And of course, you can see all of this particular folder here.

Big Red's tail seems to have stopped growing, but Mint still loves him, and he's not having trouble flying. He did try to come in here one more time, but I turned him away at the door this time. I still wonder if he tried that in the wrong home.

Henry's still the king but has changed his habits again. Always comes by for breakfast, usually for lunch, but now he must have other things to do in the evening, because he rarely appears for dinner.

Love the photos, Sam.
Many thanks for sharing them with us.
Such a beautiful little flock.

It may take some time for Big Red's tail to grow back completely.
I'm glad he's not having any problems flying.

Thanks. Big Red's also learned Henry's trick of jumping up onto the window-door runner to ask for food, although he doesn't do it as often as Henry does. And his mate, Mint, has become quite the little attack pidgee. It's like she's his bodyguard. I've seen her bite down on the back of larger pidgees' necks and march them off like someone holding onto someone's ear.

Siam Sam wrote:

Thanks. Big Red's also learned Henry's trick of jumping up onto the window-door runner to ask for food, although he doesn't do it as often as Henry does. And his mate, Mint, has become quite the little attack pidgee. It's like she's his bodyguard.

I've seen her bite down on the back of larger pidgees' necks and march them off like someone holding onto someone's ear.

That is too funny.

Who needs a guard dog when you've got an attack hen?...

Teresa wrote:

Who needs a guard dog when you've got an attack hen?...

Siam Sam wrote:

A new dirty-whiteish kid.

The new kid in the photo above we've named Charlie. He stayed here Saturday night, which worried us, as that's stopped being a good sign. But he's still alive and eating. Just stayed the one night though but still coming around in the daytime. A funny little guy, kind of awkward and a bit misshapen. Male, as he gets aggressive with some of the others.

Very pretty bird!

I don't know much about pigeon genetics, but he looks like a cross between a grizzle and a blue bar.

Great picture, Sam.
I love the different coloring of the two birds.
They make a wonderful compliment to each other.

A little odd: Charlie stayed here that Saturday night, September 3. Then not again until last night, Saturday night again, the 10th. What is this, a weekend getaway for him? Sunday night now, and no one here.

Could it be something to do with night life? Maybe where he usually roosts there's a lot of disturbance on Saturday nights...

Or maybe he comes here to sleep off his Friday-night excesses, heh. But Charlie broke the pattern by staying here last night (Thursday night), so he doesn't have a little calendar after all. Left at daylight, then came back and has been hanging around all morning. (Almost 10:30am, and he's lounging around.)

A beautiful young creamy white one keeps following Big Red (still minus a tail) and Mint here, so it must be theirs. We think a female, looks so elegant. A few new ones have been showing up, but one that is especially hanging around is a tiny, tiny gray one we've called Little Squealer, for obvious reasons. Still a baby. We don't know whose she is, but she squeals like a stuck pig if she feels the slightest bit threatened, and she feels threatened all the time. We always know when she's out there. "SQUEAL, SQUEAL SQUEAL!" And flaps her wings in a defensive manner, whether she's being attacked or not. Feathers not even fully formed yet underneath the wings. Sometimes the other pigeons will go after her in what appears to be a bid to shut her up. But she gets a lot of food, rushing in, eating while squealing and flapping before someone chases her away.

There is an unusual number of white pigeons in the neighborhood now. All related to Henry one way or another, heh.

It looks like Henry's been busy and you'll probably have to have a serious conversation with Charlie about the dangers of a mispent youth...

I've seen a lot of pushy squeakers act the way Little Squealer does, either because they're very pushy or just plain hungry -- or both!
And the new creamy one sounds very pretty! I can see more photos coming up... ?

Little Squeaker definitely seems the pushy type. Has even started attacking others, and still tiny!

We've noticed that Charlie will leave very late and then only seems to fly up or down to the next balcony. So late last night, I leaned out of our bedroom window and shined a flashlight onto the fifth-floor balcony below us. Sure enough, Charlie was staying there for the night. All of the units in our building are owned, but some owners rent theirs out, and the unit below is one of those. I recall an Indian family there most recently have not detected any activity for a while. I don't know if they moved or are just back in India for a visit, but I guess Charlie feels it's more peaceful there than with us at night. He was back up here early this morning. Funny little guy. Acts like an old man. Funny-looking, especially with what almost looks like an extra pair of wings, the way some feathers on eith side sweep up off his wings. Seems sad and lonely. But he eats okay. I think this is just the way he is.

Yes, more photos soon.

Well, last night (Tuesday night), I didn't need a flashlight. When I looked out the bedroom window, I could see lights coming from the unit below, and their living-room lights lit up the balcony. There was Charlie, all puffed up into a round ball on the top rail. There's no way the people there could not have seen him. I wonder what they thought. No food or water had been put out. And he's not come around here today; hope they didn't capture him to eat for dinner! :eek:

Mint has followed Henry's and Big Red's habit of jumping up in the window to beg for food. Smart girl! She and her daughter keep coming around but Big Red not so much now. Maybe he's on eggs during the day? He may have grown tired of missing out on food, as it seems he's always shown up too late lately. Too many other pidgees around by the time he appears.

I hope Charlie's alright, Sam.
You know, it's just about possible the people on the 5th floor may not have seen him. Even though to you he was brightly lit-up, a lot of the light in the room would have reflected back, making what was outside very difficult to see.

I'm glad Mint and her daughter are visiting regularly, and I hope Big Red gets to arrive on time to feed!

From inside our place, which is the same set-up, you can see the rail pretty well at night, as it's not that far away. But this is a bit ominous: Charlie has completely vanished. Last seen on Tuesday night, mentioned above, on the balcony rail one floor below and all the lights on inside the unit. Now it's about 11:30am Friday morning, and he's not been seen since. Checked the balcony below on both of the previous nights, and no Charlie there. And no one home either. I have a bad feeling they may have done something to him, although how they managed to catch him is a mystery.

And I'm wondering if this may help explain the mystery of Big Red's tail. Hmmm. Speaking of that, his tail is finally growing back in nicely. It seemed to have stopped growing back at one point, and I thought maybe it never would. But it's proceeding nicely now. And another baby showed up with him, resembling Baby Red but not him. Gray with reddish-brown markings.

Poor Charlie, I hope nothing bad has happened to him!

Charlie's back! One week after he was last seen. Looks none the worse for wear. Hungry, so I fed him. He's eating right now. I wonder what happened to him.

Well, now he's not. Henry has arrived and chased him away.

Another new one has shown up. A male, judging from the size. Has markings very similar to Big Pidgee, the original male who nested on the balcony three years ago with his mate, Little Pidgee. A descendant? Head similar to Henry and Ladyboy's. Speaking of Henry, he's showing no interest in finding another mate. Could be discouraged from them all dying or disappearing.

Siam Sam wrote:

Charlie's back! One week after he was last seen. Looks none the worse for wear. Hungry, so I fed him. He's eating right now. I wonder what happened to him.

Well, now he's not. Henry has arrived and chased him away.

That's wonderful!!! Maybe he got put off by the lights and the noise and stayed away for a while.