# Natural habitat of Pigeons

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-habitat-of-pigeons/255479>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 16, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-habitat-of-pigeons/255479 "2004-07-16T20:51:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-habitat-of-pigeons/255479/1 "2004-07-16T20:51:42Z")

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I only see pigeons in highly urbanized areas.

Where did pigeons live before Man built all of his cities?

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**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-habitat-of-pigeons/255479/2 "2004-07-16T20:56:17Z")

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Northern Africa, on rocky ridges; from there to buildings wasn´t much of a change.

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-habitat-of-pigeons/255479/3 "2004-07-16T20:58:06Z")

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Cliffs. City pigeons (_Columba livia_) are more properly called rock pigeons. This is why they like buidings and window ledges.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-habitat-of-pigeons/255479/4 "2004-07-16T21:01:28Z")

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We obliged them immensely by building large numbers of cliffs, complete with lots of ledges for nesting, that are ideal habitat for them in lots of places where there formerly was none.

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**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-habitat-of-pigeons/255479/5 "2004-07-16T21:06:54Z")

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OK, _cliffs_, not ridges; my mistake. Sorry. :o