Dark spots on the plumage - what could this mean?

I am a bit worried about our Jimi. He is quite a big pigeon with broad shoulders, light grey plumage with a nice calm character.
This morning everything was okay still. He came as ususal for breakfast and I handfed him as I do each morning. In the late afternoon when he came again for supper I noticed several dark spots on his plumage: several on his breast, on one wing, around his mouth and a dark ring around his left eye. I could not see any open injuries, not even a single damaged feather. Also his eye itself did not show any injury. He fed with good appetite and when he took off to fly to his roosting place there was nothing unusual to be seen with his flight.

Could this be blood soaked up through the feathers from a severe fight? Or is this something else? As I already said, I could not detect any injury. But still I find this very strange.

I can remember one incident when he came and had a dark stripe over his head. A few days later it had disappeared - so I assumed that this was a bleeding injury but I did not know for sure.

Did you happen to take a picture? Could be he got away from a Hawk and has some puncture wounds which are covered by his feathers.

No - unfortunately not, Charis - I was too shocked to see this. But I don't think it was a hawk because both sides of his mouth were dark too as if he had been in one of those biting fights which can become so nasty.
I try to take some pics tomorrow when he is coming for breakfast again. Oh my - the worries never seem to end...

pigeonwriter wrote:

I am a bit worried about our Jimi. He is quite a big pigeon with broad shoulders, light grey plumage with a nice calm character.
This morning everything was okay still. He came as ususal for breakfast and I handfed him as I do each morning.

In the late afternoon when he came again for supper I noticed several dark spots on his plumage: several on his breast, on one wing, around his mouth and a dark ring around his left eye.

I could not see any open injuries, not even a single damaged feather. Also his eye itself did not show any injury. He fed with good appetite and when he took off to fly to his roosting place there was nothing unusual to be seen with his flight.

Could this be blood soaked up through the feathers from a severe fight? Or is this something else? As I already said, I could not detect any injury. But still I find this very strange.

I can remember one incident when he came and had a dark stripe over his head. A few days later it had disappeared - so I assumed that this was a bleeding injury but I did not know for sure.

This really is strange, Petra.

The dark spots on his breast, wing and even around his mouth I could relate to as possibly being blood splatters, but the dark ring around his eye is puzzling to me.

Hopefully you will be able to get a picture when he returns.

At least he knows he can come to you.
Yestersday, there was a little hen Pigeons waiting for me in front of my back door. She didn't try to fly away but waited for me to pick her up and bring her inside. She has canker and I started treatment. It's amazing how they know where to get help.

Matilda wrote:

At least he knows he can come to you.
Yestersday, there was a little hen Pigeons waiting for me in front of my back door. She didn't try to fly away but waited for me to pick her up and bring her inside. She has canker and I started treatment. It's amazing how they know where to get help.

As this forum is for I'm not worried to make this statement, but they really know. Maybe they communicate somehow. Pigeons totally new to my garden come and wait for help.

pigeonwriter wrote:

No - unfortunately not, Charis - I was too shocked to see this. But I don't think it was a hawk because both sides of his mouth were dark too as if he had been in one of those biting fights which can become so nasty.
I try to take some pics tomorrow when he is coming for breakfast again. Oh my - the worries never seem to end...

Any chance that it was oil? Was he acting weird?

plamenh wrote:

As this forum is for I'm not worried to make this statement, but they really know.

Maybe they communicate somehow.

Pigeons totally new to my garden come and wait for help.

Pigeons definitely know where to go for help, where they know they will be received with open hands
and a kind heart. No one can convince me differently.

There is also no doubt in my mind that they communicate.

I've had numerous pigeons waiting at my back door, seemingly knowing I will be checking.

Petra,
I hope you find out the reason for the strange marks on Jimi. For my part I have no idea. I just hope he's going to be alright.

As for pigeons knowing where they can get help... who knows, perhaps they really do! They can do so much else that is surprising, starting with their homing ability... We have a lot to learn about our fellow creatures.

Teresa wrote:

Petra,
I hope you find out the reason for the strange marks on Jimi. For my part I have no idea. I just hope he's going to be alright.
As for pigeons knowing where they can get help... who knows, perhaps they really do! They can do so much else that is surprising, starting with their homing ability... We have a lot to learn about our fellow creatures.

I agree.

Dear Friends,
I don't have a photo of Jimi still because it was very dark this morning - the weather has become typically wet autumn like. BUT I could see that the spots on Jimi's plumage have become lighter and there were fewer. Also the dark ring around his eye was lighter. I don't think that you could have seen it on a photo now. He seemed to be okay and fed from my hand with usual good appetite.
Therefore I think he must have been in a really bad fight with another pigeon. I assume that the ring around his one eye was some kind of hematoma, probably from getting picked into his face. You know, some injuries in the face lead to a concentration of injured blood vessels around your eyes even if you did not get a punch on your eye. So I think this had happened to Jimi too. Who knows.

I think he is healing and I can only hope that there are no consequences. I will watch this closely.

so much for your concerns - I feel much better now.

Charis, Teresa and everybody - I am completely convinced that pigeons have some kind of communication and that they talk to each other. I have said that a couple of times. How on earth do they know where to get food for example? Not without reason we suddenly had so many pigeons on our balcony so that it became a problem to feed them without bad consequences - "ours" getting too much stress being one of those. So I had to stop. Thank heaven they learn quickly and only a few of the stubborns are still coming for whom I can sneek in giving a corn or two.
Today 3 pijjies tried to feed from my half open fist at the same time - sticking their little heads into my hand - I mean they really shoved their heads into my hand covering each other with their wings so that you could not see any more which wing belonged to whom! It looked so funny. They were very hungry...

So if pijjies know where to get food why shouldn't they know where to get help from when they are sick? I mean they know quite well whom they can look straight into the eyes and beg for food just by looking at you...these looks...that say everything...

I'm glad he's better.

Perhaps he was splashed with dirty water, like from a puddle on the street? Has it been raining there? It's odd but at least it seems to be wearing off.

Jenaka wrote:

Perhaps he was splashed with dirty water, like from a puddle on the street? Has it been raining there? It's odd but at least it seems to be wearing off.

Good point...like oily water from the street.

Appreciate the update, Petra.
I'm glad he's seems to be doing OK and the spots are diminishing.

If it was oily stuff from the street, seems like he was fortunate to get only a little on him. He's in the right place.

Yes, they have some kind of sense of where is 'safe' for them to go. I have them turn up on the balcony and just flop, with no more strength left. Monfay and Choc Ice were just lying down outside the door, exhausted, underweight and undernourished winter squeakers. Doodles was in the same place, a racing pigeon with a broken leg. Capuccino just stood alone on the balcony looking up at me, a big strong bird who meekly allowed himself to be picked up and taken in for treatment.

They are amazing little beings

The dark spots have nearly completely diappeared. I am sure it was not oily water but puncture wounds from being biten by another pigeon. The area around his mouth showed some traces of fighting but they have healed in the meanwhile. It could not have been a larger predator because then you would have seen some damaged feathers.
Thank you all for your care. I am so happy that this ended seemingly in a good way.