Hello from Bangkok!

And now I give you the long-promised photos, ranging in time from November 23-January 21.

Henry orders a meal.

Henry and Geri eat. Look at Henry go! His head's just a blur. You can see Geri's "clown face" pretty well here. Note the white "streak" between her eye and the dark patch or "clown makeup" around her mouth.

Pinkie looking cute as ever. An absolutely beautiful little girl. She's actually not pure white though. There are a couple of small light-tan patches on her upper back. Snowflake, a new white one, is even whiter. No picture of her yet though.

Geri's daughter, with Mom in foreground. At least, we're pretty sure she belongs to Henry and Geri. Takes after Mom. She came here for a few days, then disappeared. Her brother Funny Face still comes around.

Henry bows before me. Well, actually he's eating while ignoring me.

Henry and daughter Ladyboy. She's been coming around for almost 1-1/2 years now. Henry's first offspring that we know of.

The Daughter again. Really resembles Geri.

Funny Face snoozes here and here, in the dining-room window. It's New Year's Day, so perhaps he had a big night. This is The Daughter's brother. At least, I think he is. There may be two or even three we've been calling Funny Face thinking they're all the same.

Henry peers in.

Baby and bath. This one was in and out of the water dish. Disappeared after that day, I think the only appearance.

Geri eats. I mentioned she'd been in a fight a day or so before this photo was taken. About the middle of her right wing is the large overturned feather I noted, but it's not that evident in this shot. It's the light streak mid-wing. She's doing fine now, but the feather is still turned. The shaft must be broken, and it's not detached yet.

These are all in a new folder I've opened for this year called Pigeons 2012, although the photos start from November 23, 2011.

Still more babies showing up. Two or maybe three today alone, but I've not taken photos of them yet. One looks like Geri and resembles the old Marble Face. I surprised that one taking a bath this morning. What is it about young pidgees that prompt them to take a bath, then they seem to forget it as they get older? Two others may actually be only, but whether it was one or two, the color was white with a few black dots.

No sign of Charlie for a few weeks now.

We did some more checking with the office, and the people below us are Burmese, supposedly the same family who's lived there for a few years. (They rent from the Thai owner of the unit.) But I think someone new has been added to the mix. First there's the food/cooking oddity. Then there's the fact that they open their windows now instead of just running the air-con. And they've started hanging laundry out to dry. All of this is different from a month or two ago. At the height of Thailand's flood crisis, that unit did fill up with more people. I'm guessing while the current occupants may still be Burmese, they're not the same ones as before. Possibly friends or family that have moved in. Could be good overall, as we're still getting too large a crowd and are having to turn Henry and Geri down more rather than letting them get into fights over food. Late afternoon is the best feeding time now, and the people below seem to stay inside at that time.

Great photos, Sam, thanks for sharing!
And such lovely pigeons!

I wouldn't have been able to spot the upturned feather on Geri's wing if you had not pointed it out. She's really lovely, and her daughter is such a cute squeaker! Pinkie is quite the superstar... it looks like she's posing for the photo!
They all seem so comfortable on your balcony, I hope you don't have to make lots more compromises because of the neighbours.
All those different habits downstairs seem to justify what you said, that they must be different people. I hope it works out alright for you, and not like what happened to my mother: she rented a 2-bedroom flat to a young woman who then let her sister move in -- and the sister's husband, their children, the children from his first marriage, mother-in-law and a couple of cousins... it was chaos!!! Thankfully they've gone now, and the neighbours breathed a sigh of relief!

I'm afraid it's not looking good for poor little Mint, who is Big Red's mate and Pinkie's mother. She was fine until this past Saturday. But that morning, she was breathing heavily and her eyes kept sort of closing. She seemed listless enough that I thought maybe I could catch her, but when I tried, she flew away. Not seen again. We fear the worst. Big Red is having one of his regular disappearances; don't know what he'll think when he returns again and Mint is gone.

The happy news is that two new babies have shown up who seem to belong to Henry and Geri. And a little baby black pidgee -- solid black like the crows in the neighborhood. Hmmm, I wonder ...

Sorry about Mint, such a shame she wouldn't be caught! At times like that I always wish I could speak pigeon to let them know it's OK...

Still no sign of Mint. Afraid she's gone. And Big Red's not returned from his latest jaunt.

On another matter, suddenly I'm getting e-mail notices for replies. That just started happening in the last couple of weeks. I've made sure to turn off all the e-mail notification tags in my Profile area, because e-mail notification's not necessary, but still it does it. Do you know how I can get that turned off? Thanks.

Siam Sam wrote:

Still no sign of Mint. Afraid she's gone. And Big Red's not returned from his latest jaunt.

On another matter, suddenly I'm getting e-mail notices for replies. That just started happening in the last couple of weeks. I've made sure to turn off all the e-mail notification tags in my Profile area, because e-mail notification's not necessary, but still it does it. Do you know how I can get that turned off? Thanks.

Sure! At the bottom of the page, on the right hand side, you'll see the sentence "stop watching this topic" -- if you click on that, the notifications will stop!

Thanks. I must have turned that on by mistake.

Geri eats a lot these days. And I mean A LOT. She's usually sitting out there every morning waiting for us to appear. This morning, I swear she flew up somewhere to fetch Henry when she saw me. Flew back down with him in tow a minute later.

Several new babies this past week. They can't all belong to Henry and Geri, but most are definitely related. Took some excellent photos of one going crazy taking a bath yesterday morning, really loving it. That one's a male judging by the size; first time here. Will try not to take too long getting photos up, but you know how it goes.

But that means even more are coming around. We have to be increasingly careful. I'm afraid Henry and Geri aren't getting much of a breakfast anymore, but dinnertime is still good.

You seem to be getting a lot of babies much earlier than the rest of us... What are the temperatures like over there at this time of year?

Temperatures in Bangkok? Ha! We did cool down to the 80s, and even 70s some nights, in December and January, but we're back to broiling now. Will only get worse, as March and April are our summer. Which is one reason we're choosing April for an escape to the US.

Yet several more new babies have shown up in recent days. At least one is definitely Henry and Geri's. I think it's the one who was taking a bath. Seems to stay close to them. Still squeaks but not for a feeding. Like when he hops down from the green concrete onto the floor, he'll let out a little squeak. Seems to be male, as he's already started doing Angry Dances at Ladyboy.

Another one, possibly that one's sibling, has some sort of bump coming out the back of the head. I thought it was just ruffled feathers at first, but it's still there after a couple of days. Hope it's not a tumor! This one's gray with a lovely rippled-line wing pattern and a splash of white on the face. Another one I saw yesterday was a very, very dark Sammy with a single white spot on the back of the neck and white trim edging the black wings. Beautiful, especially the wing pattern in flight. Not seen that one again.

Geri has taken to hopping into the middle of the door if it's open. Cute. But again, there are too many in the mornings now. As with our trip to Vietnam two years ago, our coming journey to the US will hopefully be good for thinning out the crowd a little, although also like two years ago we hope Henry (and Geri) sticks around.

Still more babies showing up. One I thought was Big Red returned, but no, the red is a much deeper rust color and completely covers the head. First appearance this morning (Tuesday morning). And we have another squealer, this one gray with a sort of Big Pidgee pattern and a white underbelly. Keeps squealing but not for a feeding, just in general, although not as loud as Little Squealer was. Henry doesn't seem to mind that one around and will let it eat with him.

Geri seems to be getting fed up with the others and seems suspicious of my efforts to keep outsiders away. Like I'm maybe trying to chase her away. She left without eating yesterday. Today, Henry showed up alone to eat. We actually viewed them having sex down in the temple parking lot over the weekend. May be getting just too crowded here for her liking, and we are trying to convince the others to go hunt.

And little Bumpy Head still has that "horn" on the back of the head, but it doesn't seem to cause the pidgee any trouble. We're pretty sure that one's the sibling of the dirty-white one who took a bath recently.

Some great news! After a lengthier-than-usual absence, Big Red returned this morning (Thursday morning). And ... Mint is with him! She seems better. They're out there now eating and fighting off other pidgees.

The one with the "tumor" on the back of his head we call Bumpy Head. It really does seem to be some sort of growth, smack in the middle of the back of the head, giving him a sort of woodpecker appearance. But it does not seem to bother him at all. Quite a healthy little pidgee.

Still more babies have showed up. Don't know where they're all coming from. Will post some photos soon, but one I failed to get was a beautiful dark one with white trim that I think I mentioned. Disappeared after two or three visits.

Say, this website seems to be running very slowly. Are you having technical problems?

Hi Sam,

I'm so happy to hear the Big Red and Minty have showed up! That's really good news!

I wonder about Bumpy Head... does it look like a lump, or could it be a crest maybe? I've had a couple of those turn up among the ferals, descendants of domestic show breeds. It that was the case, that would preclude him from being the sibling of the dirty-white one who took a bath recently, as squeakers only have a crest when both parents also have them.

'Technical problems' are dirty words round here at the moment... I had a power surge recently, which spectacularly crashed my computer and fried my daughter's and also her DVD player...
Both computers are up and going now, but mine still suffers from acute old age and has a nasty tendency to crash while I'm writing a message! Do you know what it's like to type a word and wait... and wait... for it to appear on screen? That will give you an idea...

It does sort of look like a crest. I hope that's all it is. He seems a happy little pidgee completely untroubled by it. Not sure if there are any show pigeons around here though, and I've not seen any others with crests.

Big Red and Mint have been returning lately, and the wife concedes this is probably Mint but does not seem completely convinced. We've inspected past photos of Mint, and it does seem as if some of her markings have disappeared. She only had a few black spots, mainly on the chest. But the main ones on her chest are still there, plus some small ones behind her neck. We have seen markings alter slightly on other pidgees. Dunno why that happens. Maybe feathers fall ot. But it doesn't seem to be unheard of. But she seems to know us and does not fly away in fright when we suddenly appear like the newer pidgees do. I am sure it's Mint. And she and Big Red are awfully sweet together.

Unfortunately, now their daughter Pinky has disappeared. Not been seen for several days.

Markings on pigeons can change slightly when they moult their feathers, so it's very likely that's really Mint in spite of the slight differences. I had a patient with very distinctive markings which was later released, and a year later I saw one very similar, but some of the distinctive pattern was changed. But as I had put a band on his leg, that was definite proof it was the same one. And I've seen the same happen with seagulls.

I'm sorry to hear that Pinky hasn't been around. I hope she's safe, wherever she is.

The Mint/Pinky debate rages on, and the wife just about has me convinced it is Pinky after all. Whichever one it is, her markings have indeed changed slightly. But the clincher seems to be the white toenails, which Pinky had but not Mint, the later having more standard black ones. Poor Mint. Could be dead after all. And if this is Mint, then the question of Pinky's whereabouts arises. Possibly it's Pinky, and she was just happy to see Dad again. Maybe Big Red decided to substitute Pinky for Mint after arriving home and finding his mate gone. And Big Red has flown the coop again, gone for several days now. I sure would like to know where he goes.

Bumpy Head comes around less often now, presumably because of the cutback in feedings, but still seems happy and healthy. The little one who took the bath in those last photos hangs around a lot, and we've named him Jimmy. He tends to lounge around for half the day in the flower box, so who knows! Maybe he'll actually build a nest there when we're gone next month.

I now fully admit that this is Pinky and not Mint, sad to say. Sad, except this answers the question of where Pinky went. There was a tiny tan spot on her back, and that's gone now, but the white toenails (claws?) don't lie.

Big Red has returned and officially made Pinky his mate. His own daughter! In the human world, we'd be calling Child and Protective Services, but I've learned this seems normal for pidgees. They did the deed yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) on the top rail of the balcony. She seemed rather inexperienced, and Big Red kept pecking at her to get her to crouch lower so he could mount. But she was definitely up for it, twitching her wing in a salacious come-on manner. Both strutted along the rail afterward instead of in a circle like pidgees do on the floor. Big Red obviously likes the white girls. Can't wait to see their babies.

Bumpy Head's crest is starting to turn white. At first I thought someone had crapped on him, but it seems to be some white feathers poking through.

Henry and Geri were taking turns coming here again, indicating shifts on their nest, wherever that is. But they showed up together again this morning. Hope we get to see the new babies before we leave for the US.

Such a shame that Minty is missing, but it's good to know that at least you can account for Pinky's whereabouts. And yes, the father-daughter relationship is quite common among pigeons! I would hazard a guess that their offspring may look a lot like Pinky, but it will be interesting to see what the babies look like, especially whether the boys will look more like dad.

The new feathers growing on Bumpy Head's head should indicate a very interesting crest to come. He may just become one of your top photographic models!

I wanted to get at least one more batch of photos in before we left early next month.

Here's a cute little guy who came around for a couple of days and then disappeared. And snoozing.

Here's a series of shots of a new pidgee named Jimmy taking a bath. I think he's the one in the next-to-last shot in the last batch that was labeled "Baby and bath." We think he may belong to Henry and Geri but has stopped taking baths now. But here he is early last month splashing away. Followed by Bath 2, Bath 3 (I know there's a pidgee in there somewhere), Bath 4 (he reemerges for air), Bath 5 (more splashing) and Bath 6. Finally, he dries out.

And Jimmy with Geri and Henry. This is the only (fairly) good new photo I have of Geri. For some reason, it's always difficult to get a good shot of her. You can see the little clown face a little here. Little Clown Girl is her nickname.

And now Bumpy Head, eating with Henry. You can see the "white paint speckles" on his face. The wing pattern strongly resembles Geri's. But most importantly, you can see the crest on the back of the head. At least, we hope it's just a crest, and increasingly that's what it does appear to be. And another shot; the crest may be a little more prominent in this one. And one more, with Jimmy (rear) added into the mix.

And now we come to Squeak, so named due to the squeaking noise he made with each step when he was barely out of squabhood. Rather than the constant squealing of a squab, he would let out a squeak with each step he took, like those little shoes that toddlers wear. Wing pattern close to Geri's and a white underbelly. Here's what may be a family photo, with (from left) Jimmy, Squeak, Henry and Ladyboy. The same crew is here, with Squeak's white underside perhaps showing a little more.

Big Red and Pinky, his daughter-cum-bride. At this point, I was thinking Mint had returned but have since accepted that this is Pinky. And Big Red giving me his anti-paparazzi glare.

Bumpy Head again, with a couple of anonymous grays (please excuse the dirty window). Again, he seems to be a normal, healthy pidgee.

And now the king. Henry, of course. Plus a close-up. And literally less than two minutes after I took those, he had flown down and jumped in the window to order some breakfast.

Finally, one more of bumpy head. You can see some more white coming in, on the throat a little and especially on his crest in back.

That's all for this round. The solid-black one named Spooky is still coming around. I think I've mentioned him before. No photos yet. I have also mentioned Boots and Bruiser before; they tend to get overlooked, but they've been a couple for a long time. Boots has her name due to her feathery "socky feet," feathers going all the way down to her feet like little boots. Bruiser is this big "dumb jock" sort of pidgee. He's always a bully to others, so we have to keep chasing him away whenever he's acting mean to others (he's afraid of Henry though), but he doesn't seem to take it personally. Always comes back. Again, Boots and Bruiser have been a couple for quite a long time now, and we reckon they may be responsible for a good number of the new grays that show up. (They've been rather active in the designated sex area too, heh. )

Great photos, Sam, as always!
I's great to put a (feathery) face to a name, and I must say youe visitors are very pretty birds!

I laughed when you explained about Boots' name, because that's how one of my locals got nicknamed 'Snowboots'!

Thanks. What do you make of Bumbpy Head? Does that look like a crest to you?

Siam Sam wrote:

Thanks. What do you make of Bumbpy Head? Does that look like a crest to you?

Yes, it does! Which means that BOTH his parents must have crests too, according to Becky Mishak, who's an expert at pigeon genetics.
Let me see if I can find an example of a crested feral adult...

Here we are, this is one of my visitors, Venice:

That's a nice pidgee. A touch of mascars?

But it's very odd, because we've not seen any other crested pidgees here. Bumpy Head is growing large. Definitely a male. Still healthy and happy. And more white feathers are breaking out. Below are a couple of shots I took on Sunday:

This one really shows up his new white bits. Except for the crest, he really does seem a cross between Henry and Geri -- Geri's wing pattern with some white from Henry poking through. The crest is still there and shows no signs of going away.

This one is not that good, but it does show the back of his head a little. Some white there too, including on the crest. Just a touch of green irredescence also, on the left side of the head.

Bumpy Head is firmly established as a regular. Hangs around all the time. Jimmy looked all settled in but has not shown up for several days. Squeak is coming around a lot too and like Bumpy Head is showing sporadic white feathers poking through his gray, Geri-like pattern. I can't help but wonder if these two are siblings. (Squeak still has his white underbelly.)

Speaking of Geri, we've noticed something about her eating habits. The bird seed we put down is vitamin-fortified and comes in different-colored seeds. We've long noticed the green seeds are everyone's least favorite. They'll eat them if there's nothing else but pass them over for the other colors. Most of the seeds are different shades of brown or tan, but some are black. Geri seems unique in that she actively hunts out all the black seeds first. We just noticed this a week or so ago, but it's true every time we watch now -- she eats the black ones first and then the other colors.

Two new babies have shown up this week too. One we're pretty sure belongs to Boots and Bruiser -- dark gray with socky feet like Boots. Tiny. May be female. Another is almost a toasted-marshmallow color but sort of pinkish; may belong to Big Red.

Bumpy Head is growing up to be a very handsome pigeon! As for the crest, you'll have to argue it out with the geneticists, because apparently it's established a youngster can only inherit that feature if both parents have it!
The conversation came about because of the one whose photo I posted. Beautiful bird, and the only one in the flock with those characteristics, though not so different in colour. I'm told he must have been a domestic escapee.

Pigeons do have strong preferences when it comes to food colour. If they like the taste of a particular food, they'll go for anything that colour first. (My Piper loves green and white!)
In experiments, most pigeons seemed to go for yellow or white food first, which got explained by the connection with corn and safflower seeds, but I suppose that depends on their usual diet and what's available in a particular country.