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Piloerection: Even Pigeons Do Get Cold
I was walking down Market Street the other day, obviously cold, and saw this small group of pigeons hanging out by the Cable Car Turnaround at California Street. They looked a bit fat, I thought, like they were completely fluffed up. I knelt down very close to them and snapped some photos. To my surprise they didn’t even budge a tiny bit!
Apparently, it’s piloerection. That’s when they fluff their feathers up to trap a little extra air to keep them warm. Piloerection is the stiffening of the hair of the skin or, simply, goose bumps. It’s “pilo-” from the Latin “pilus” meaning “hair”. In the case of birds, piloerection is the reflex of extending their feathers out to keep themselves warm because even birds do get cold.
Categories: San Francisco
Birds in the city, Do birds get cold, Do birds get cold in the winter, Do pigeons get cold, Do pigeons get cold in the winter, Flock of pigeons, Goose bumps, How do birds stay warm in the cold, How do birds stay warm in the winter, Jun Belen, Pigeons in the city, Piloerection, Pilus is Latin for hair
Great story Jun! Pigeons are not the only birds who do this. But I love that you paid attention to them. Such a lovely photograph. Pigeons and doves are, of course, genetically, the same bird.