London Man Finds a Pigeon That Doesn’t Know How to Build a Nest. The Bird Did What Nobody Expected: ‘Are You Now the Pigeon’s Social Worker?’

Pigeons have earned a reputation online as “terrible” nesters. There are tons of trending videos of pigeons making nests with a few measly sticks. The allegations seem blown out of proportion, but a man from London (@plonkerpigeons) has seen it himself. A pigeon nested on his balcony using only three, sorry-looking twigs.

One day, he noticed a singular egg in the middle of three twigs near his planter box. He found out that one pigeon is the “mastermind” behind the mystery egg on his balcony. If nests could be classified into architectural genres, this particular pigeon nest would definitely fall under minimalism.

“I’ve been skeptical about this egg’s chances of hatching from the get-go, so I’ve been documenting,” he said, watching the pigeon try to build the nest. When he checked the next day, the egg appeared to be missing at first. He looked under his plant box, and that’s when he realized that it rolled over. Since the “nest” only consisted of three twigs, nothing would stop the egg from shifting to different places. Positioned on a balcony, it’s highly possible that the egg might just drop altogether.

The man returned the egg to its original position, just in time for the bird to come back and plop right on it. But something needed to be done to help the bird. Instead of leaving the egg to its fate, he collected twigs and put them out on his balcony. He didn’t hand it over to the bird—he just left the pile out there to see if the pigeon would make use of it.

A plot twist nobody in the pigeon community expected

“She’s about as uninterested in me being in her presence as my granny is when I’m talking about the World Cup results,” he joked. He had been checking the bird since he dropped the twig pile. Then he noticed that the stack he left had disappeared.

“In the biggest twist since Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, they’ve got a nest!” The man was ecstatic to see the pigeon use the twigs he provided. It was no longer a sad-looking ‘x’ mark on the ground but an actual nest that could keep the egg secure and insulated.

Social media users on TikTok were surprised that the pigeon made use of the twigs.

One commenter wrote, “The first nest was a typical pigeon nest, the new and improved version is probably the greatest nest the pigeon community has ever witnessed.”

Another said, “Raise your hand if you were surprised that they actually USED the sticks he provided.”

And someone quipped, “Are you now the pigeon’s social worker?”

And someone quipped, “Are you now the pigeon’s social worker?” Jokes aside, many more commenters were glad to see the man help the bird out. Pigeon nests online have been trending because compared to other birds, theirs look flimsy—almost as if they don’t know how to build nests. It seems odd, but one theory is that their lack of nest-building skills may be an evolutionary response.

Why are pigeons “bad” at nesting?

According to Deutsche Welle (DW), pigeons used to nest in wild, rocky cliffs. There were caves and crevices that pigeons could rest on for protection, and all they needed were a few twigs to support their eggs. It seems that essentially, even wild pigeons were not known to create big and elaborate nests.

“The same principle applies to the ledges and windowsills where today’s city pigeons usually nest,” DW reported. Essentially, pigeons might have brought their old nesting habits from their original environment. Since they had been domesticated and then released into the city, the birds may be nesting the way they’d always known how to.

As hilarious as many pigeon nests appear to be, the birds are not as incapable as assumed.

(featured images: plonkerpigeon)

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