Pigeon graveyards

Matthew:

Where do pigeons go to die?

-- Inquiring Mind, North Park

Birdy folks and pest-control folks generally agree that when a pigeon's feeling funky, he probably heads back to familiar territory-- his sleeping roost in a palm tree or a niche in a building. Pigeons and other birds select quiet, safe locations to sleep each night. Once a bird has claimed an appropriate roost, it will return there repeatedly. One reason we don't see more dead pigeons littering the landscape is the same reason we don't see many other dead birds. They die in seclusion, then their little corpses are eaten by rats, opossums, foxes, or something else healthier and hungrier.