Pigeon’s love

A month after my baby was born, my uncle gave us two pigeons as gifts. These two are mother and son, one plump and calmed, and one fledgling and fidgeting.

Until then, I had never really got closed to pigeons, all I knew was that they were smart, with red ring markers tied on their thin feet by their masters, flying freely in long distance back and forth without much guidance. They would always fly home, as if there are magic echoes in the air that uttered by their owners. 

Pigeons are beautiful birds. Their beak shapes like a heart, apart from the fact that the heart is white. The neck part of their feather, like peacocks’ flaunting tails, is glistening with rainbow colors. The more grown up they become, the more glamorous and thick their feather will look.  

Now we become the owners of two pigeons, what should we do? Feeling unexperienced and uncertain similar to our current state of being as new parents. My uncle gave some solid advice as a previous professional in pigeon-raising. In the first place, it should take a while for them to get accustomed to the new living environment, in case that they would plot a “prison-break”, their wing feather should be shortened by scissor beforehand (Don’t worry, this will not hurt them at all, just get their long feather short). In that way, they cannot fly high. If they fly away and cannot find their routes, the worst scenario would be that they shot by bird hunters, which is not uncommon these days. 

Some days later, we had three more new members. One male adult, two teenagers, male and female each. 

Although they could not fly high at that moment, they could, without much difficulty, jump on stairs. There are stairs in our balcony leading to the roof top. Pigeons would hop up and see the better prospect of the surroundings. Maybe those moments were truly nostalgic. Finally, one day, one of them could not resist the temptation to leave, and disappeared, as we have never seen it since. We have wished that she flies sound and safe, to settle in a new sweet home. 

Because of this flee accident, we bought two cages and put them into. My husband and I agreed that once they can recognize our place, we would free them into the sky, and they will be welcomed any time to come to eat and rest, alleviating hunger and fatigue. We would pleasantly provide accommodation. But the question is: how long would take a pigeon to identify a place as home? Uncle says, wait until they have babies, they will eventually stay. 

We were left with four pigeons then. When it came to sorting, we paired the adult male and female in one cage, and the two young in another. We named them according to their physical distinctions. The female adult, whom we call her cui-cui, is a pretty and elegant young lady whose feather is perfectly light blue without any mottle. Despite that cui-cui maintained to be reserved, the male-Mr. White (he has a marked white stripe on his back) was a great flirt. He approached to show sincerity and affection and was relentless even rejected a thousand times. Obviously, after some days, ice was finally broken and he won the heart of the lady. Mr. White and cui-cui stuck together like glue ever since.

As for the two lodgers upstairs, both male and young, they appeared far less peaceful and affectionate. In fact, it was Xiaoyan, the bigger and more senior one, also the more belligerent one, chased the timid Gugu madly around. He often hogged the food, and attacked Gugu when Gugu attempted gingerly to get something to eat. I was worried that Gugu would be hurt by the bully, after my husband checking constantly if there’s any bruise in his body, we felt that it’s ok for us to leave the two alone and do not interfere. Perhaps bickering is a good way for them to stay alert and keep a high morale and we should not set rules on how they would get along. 

The establishment of pigeon’s home has attracted other guests coming. To be precise, it was the food we provided that seemed to be appealing. Many times, we noticed from our windows that some big and small turtledoves, sparrows sneaked on our balcony, jumped down, approached the cage, drew near to the feeding trough and stole the grains. They were so smart that they even arranged some sentinels here and there, on the handrails, on the tree branches, chirping, hinting the potential dangers coming from different directions. Once the alarming signals are sent, those who are sneaking the food would instantly dash away. At night, two undaunted mice often attend to join the feast.  

One morning in this summer, my husband shouted exuberantly from the balcony, “We will have new members! Cui-cui just had two eggs laid!” Excitement filled in our house as it did so in the bird lodge. Cui-cui started to sit on her egg, in fact, they two dutifully switched turns to incubate, like two soldiers carefully and meticulously performing handover ceremony. Even it’s time for meals, there would always be one remaining in the nest caring for the eggs. Vigilance solemnly prevailed. Every day we were waiting anxiously for new hatchlings, and I guess so were Cui-cui and Mr. White. One day, two days, three days…fifteen days had past and there was still nothing. In order to know why, my husband cautiously took the eggs out and only found out that the eggs had already gone stink. Apparently, inside the spotted shell, the possibility of a new life was none. The next month, two more eggs came along like the previous ones, same routine proceeded by the hard-working couple, but something disappointing happened again. Cui-cui was tenacious: there was no sign that she wanted to give up on her eggs. And Mr. White was her loyal companion. 

It is said that pigeons mate for life. They are monogamous birds that keep promises to their partners. I cannot tell whether or not that is true, but as we observe, Cui-cui and Mr. White is undoubtedly a happy couple. Cui-cui got her hot temper and is a picky eater, for every time she would pick out the most palatable grains and leaves the rest to Mr. White. Never complaining, Mr. White just waits rather patiently for his lady to finish the meal and clean up the rest. However, their upstair neighbors present a sheerly contrasting picture: hostility and fight on the dinner table. 

After several failed incubation, we were no longer very enthusiastic about Cui-cui’s new eggs. Maybe there would be no hatchlings at all, as we thought. Then one dawn in November, while it’s cold outside, my husband went to put food on the trough, he had to clear his eyes several times to make sure what he saw was not unreal: there was an unfeathered, tiny and ugly little thing—a baby pigeon indeed! Tremendous joy was immediately ignited in our house. That was the youngest bird we all have ever seen! Cui-cui and Mr. White stood by its side, with parental tenderness and pleasure. 

From the pigeons, I see love and hope—the same basis that we as human have, same basis that sustains our being, our value and our action.