Yay for the first part! 
for the second part.
There’s one with a tumah?! Here goes the kiss of death for the little guy, as now he is my new favorite.
But great news about Big Red and Mint!
The wife is not exactly disbelieving me about Mint – or so she says – but she wants to see for herself. I hope they come back. But it was Mint dammit! :mad: I watched closely from several angles. It was her markings and definitely not Pinky or Snowflake. Plus she and Big Red were acting sweet to each other out on the rail, preening each other’s head. I would love to know what adventures Big Red gets up to.
Bumpy Head seems very healthy and active. I don’t know if it’s a tumor or some sort of other growth, but it seems harmless. Maybe his head was pecked at and stretched after hatching? It gives him a “woodpecker” look, and he doesn’t even know it. I’ll post photos of him soon. He seems to have decided he likes it here and shows no signs of leaving soon. May be Henry and Geri’s, as the wing pattern slightly resembles Geri’s, and of course there’s the “white-paint splatter” on his face.
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. 
Good news: Although she has not seen a photo yet, one of the administrators on the pigeon board speculates that Bumpy Head’s “tumor” could be a crest. Said she’s had a couple of those turn up among the ferals, descendants of domestic show breeds. But she also said they only have a crest when both parents also have them. Not sure if there are any show pigeons around here, and I’ve not seen any others with crests. But it does look more like a crest, and he seems a happy, healthy little guy. Will try to post photos soon.
Well, that’s good news that little Bumpy doesn’t have a tumah. 
But I have to give you and your wife kudos on being able to tell them apart at all. So many of them look like their parents and sibling that if there is not a caption, or they are not really distinctive, like poor Goofy, I cannot tell one from the other.
But then again, I’m not lucky enough to see the live show like y’all do.
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 changed slightly, which the Pigeon Board has assured me is not uncommon. 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! :eek: In the human world, we’d be calling Child and Protective Services, but 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.
You do know they’re gonna have three eyes, don’t you?
Maybe that explains Bumpy Head’s crest. 
His crest is starting to turn white too. 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 het to see the new babies before we leave for the US.
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 :D)
Bumpy head is a handsome fella, and he does look hale and hearty. Thanks for the update on all of them, even the incestuous stuff.
I hope you and your wife have a great vacation and come back to healthy pidgees!
Thanks. Bumpy Head is out there eating with Henry right now (separate piles). He seems to be getting some more white feathers poking through here and there.
Bumpy Head is growing large. Definitely a male. Still healthy and happy. And more white feathers are breaking out. One pigeon-board admin cited an expert on pidgee genetics who said both parents have to have a crest to produce a crested offspring, but darned if we’ve seen a single other crested pidgee anywhere else around here.
Below are a couple of shots I took on Sunday:
This one really shows up his new white bits. He really does seem a cross between Henry and Geri – Geri’s wing pattern with some white from Henry poking through. You can see the crest; it 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 quite the looker! Maybe he is just a bright little guy from another neighborhood that noticed the buffet?
And Squeak is back! Well, now I’m happy that I have not been the kiss of death for two favorites.
I thought birds could see colors, but it’s great to see that they have distinct tastes. Just more proof that animals are more conscious than most people want to believe.
Fantastic pictures! When will you leave those poor birds all alone?
I’ve got pigeons here in Topeka you could feed(to the peregrine falcons downtown).
Seriously, I love the crest on Bumpy.
Tuesday morning over here, and Alas! we’ll be leaving the pidgees alone all too soon, as our flight out of here is tomorrow. Will have to try to be extra nice to Henry and Geri and the other regulars today. But we hope this trip weeds out many of the new ones, as we’re really getting too many now. Many more new babies showing up almost every day, mostly gray ones. We hope the core group is still here in a few weeks though.
Here’s a new guy who showed up on Sunday for the very first time. And a rear view. Have not seen him again since. A male judging by his size, and very young, as his eyes are still black and have not taken on the normal orange coloring around the pupils. Seems certain he’s related to Henry and Geri somehow. Note the “white-paint splotches” on the front of the face, similar to Bumpy Head’s.
And Squeak! 
Taken just this morning. He’s turned into a very health male. Seems afraid of most pidgees though. That’s a white dot just above his eye, not an out-of-place feather.
And that’s all until we return. Thanks to everyone for their kind comments.
Well, finally! We’ve been back home six whole days now, and only just now has Henry showed up. I’ve been waiting in hopes of being able to report some good news in this regard but just about gave up hope until now. Some of the regulars started trickling back after we returned this past Monday morning – Ladyboy, Spooky, a couple of white spotty ones who may have been babies when we left but still remember us – but no sign at all of Henry. Or his mate Geri. The very first one to show up after our return was the one we most wanted to see leave – Big Pretty One. He’s a bad bully to all the others.
Again, we had just about given up hope when Henry appeared this morning. We were trying to feed Spooky (a small black one). Figured Henry had maybe left the neighborhood. Well, he’s back now and seems hungry. 
Yay! I wondered when you would be getting home, and I’d seen a couple of your posts in other threads. So I was thinking “What about the pidgees???” Good to see a regular back.
Henry’s returned for the second day in a row, so I guess we’ve settled back into our routine. He even remembers how to jump up in the window to order some food. I hope Geri’s okay, still no sign of her. Seems April was especially brutal over here this year, the daily temp averaging above 104 degrees Fahrenheit with hellish humidity. Luckily there are other water sources in the neighborhood, but drinking swimming-pool chlorine can’t be good for you. The mansion next door has some sort of big water fountain though.
And one more note. Geri appeared shortly after I wrote my previous post, so all is well. It’s odd, but Henry must have somehow conveyed the information that we’re back. I have no idea how that works. Maybe she just finally noticed increased activity in our direction, dunno.
And we’ve already noticed a couple of new Henry-looking pidgees stopping by. Our main camera fried during our trip, so we’re looking to get a new one. The wife has a smaller camera, but it may not be possible to upload photos from there, so it may be awhile for any new pics.