Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) and Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) and Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Today Rock Pigeons and Ring-billed Gulls were thoroughly intermingled along Myrtle Beach's oceanfront, feeding from the shellfish remnants being washed up by the surf, and scavenging for any other edible morsels to be found.
One automatically thinks of urban-dwelling pigeons and ocean-loving seagulls as being utterly distinct in habitat and habits, but that is not the case. Both pigeons and seagulls are scavengers and beggars, and thus tend to be attracted to human-populated areas. Pigeons are ever-present in cities, and Ring-billed Gulls are often now called “Parking-lot Gulls” and seen in far-inland locations.
The pigeons photographed above were going so far as to wade and feed, along with the gulls, in the channel of the creek known as Midway Swash (seen in the background). They were accomplishing this in spite of the fact that their feet are not webbed waders like those of the gulls. Their landlubber anatomy did prevent them, however, from imitating the gulls in floating, paddling, tipping, and ducking on the water.
This guide to Myrtle Beach is sponsored by Mitchells Publications.
Copyright © 2009 Patricia B. Mitchell.