Many people know about pigeons’ loving and peaceful nature as they rarely fight and live peacefully with each other. It is common to see these birds locking their beaks together and kissing multiple times a day.
Why Do Pigeons Kiss Each Other? Pigeons kiss each other during courtship feeding and grooming of their face, and it can be an act of affection or exploration to develop a bond between them. Moreover, it helps strengthen their relationship and symbolizes peace and love.
They have impressive behaviors that look fascinating to observe, particularly when they fan their tails in the air and spread their wings on the grass.
In addition, they can also kiss each other by touching their beaks whenever they want to show love and affection towards their partners.
What makes pigeons kiss each other?
We have seen pigeons joining beaks with each other while sitting on the window ledge or rooftop because these birds are docile creatures that keep showing affection.
Many other reasons account for their kissing behavior, which can have deep meanings or symbolize something. Seeing them kissing in dreams also indicates something good will happen.
Courtship feeding
One of the prominent reasons for kissing pigeons is courtship feeding, when the males and females feed one another with their beaks before mating.
Engaging a mating partner after chasing her for a long time is considered a first step because the female chooses a competent male from a group of pigeons following her.
The rubbing of beaks is considered a pigeon kiss when the male touches the beak of their partner with his beak. This way, the males transfer a food particle into her beak and build trust.
The male partner offers a semi-digested piece of food to mate for easier digestion, which can probably be a piece of seed, as they prefer to eat seeds.
After that, they create a platform for egg laying when the female offers a chance to mate with her. This courtship feeding is followed by mating and egg-laying behavior in these birds.
Strengthen relationship
It helps improve the relationship between the two mating partners as these birds usually have long-term commitments and spend their whole lives with one partner.
This kind of physical act is also known as billing when the two birds press their beaks against each other or peck at bills.
Usually, male pigeons move first toward females to show their desire by following the female and grabbing her attention for courtship or mating.
Moreover, it ensures satisfaction and comfort among the birds by stimulating the brain cells and increasing the production of pleasure or love hormones.
It leads to the development of strong bonds or attachments between the partners as they feel happy with contentment and satisfaction.
Act of affection
Kissing can be an act of affection from a male pigeon to her partner, or it can be from an opposite gender. They can express sentiments toward their partner by rubbing their beaks together. They also chase each other.
This behavior symbolizes peace or romance, allowing these birds to show their love in the sweetest way. Touching the bills with a beak shows a deep love for their partner.
Moreover, it is a basic instinct in birds when they want to show affection and love to their mates. Indulging in this physical act can also symbolize admiration, care, and selflessness.
It evokes a series of other related happy emotions like love and makes them feel overwhelming. So they can express their feelings of love and affection to their partner when kissing.
Exploration purpose
Pigeons have a curious nature as they approach a new bird in their cage after some time when they feel comfortable around each other.
Their exploratory nature provokes them to get closer to others and explore their behavior or response towards them. Accordingly, they can touch their face using their beaks or bills.
I found my pigeons kissing inside the cage for exploration purposes, probably because they are not mating partners and are unknown to one another.
It seems like they are kissing, but they can be exploring each other when present at a close distance in the cage.
Moreover, these intelligent birds come forward to get answers to their questions related to the new pigeons in the cage by interacting with them.
Grooming of face
They preen feathers to remove the food particles and dirt on their bodies, but they cannot reach some areas of their body, like feathers on their face.
It can be difficult for them to clean the facial feathers as their beaks cannot reach such areas, so they help remove dirt particles from their face.
The male partner can preen feathers to clear the debris and align the facial feathers of females using its beak. The females feel happy for such acts of kindness and love from their partners.
In the same way, the females can also facilitate the males by preening their bodies to make them feel calm and clean. So they can kiss each other to groom faces and clean their feathers.
How do pigeons kiss each other?
Pigeons can kiss each other using their beaks when the male or female bird touches its beak with the beak of its partner. It is also referred to as billing when the mating partner interacts.
Sometimes, they nibble on beaks when the male puts its beak within her mouth to transfer the food particles. The male chases females to get an opportunity for mating after showing competency.
The female bird tries to approach the male bird by holding her head out when she selects a competent partner for mating. She fans her tail feathers to indicate her willingness for a kiss.
The male pigeon comes forward afterward and opens his beak to engage in this particular act of affection and love.
They also engage in a cloacal kiss during mating when the male’s cloaca touches the female.
It usually lasts for a few seconds, while the feeding kiss can last for 10 to 20 seconds when the female feeds her partner with the beak.
Furthermore, this is followed by cooing when they make a particular sound during mating, and the male transfers sperm through the cloaca to the female’s cloaca.
How often do pigeons kiss each other?
The pigeons commonly kiss by touching beaks many times a day, depending on the situation, as this act predominantly occurs during mating season.
They can breed all year, but mating occurs mostly in summer, so you can see them touching beaks or rubbing bills between March and July.
One of my friends has a pair of pigeons at his home, and these pet birds are usually involved with each other, either sitting together, kissing, or cleaning their bodies.
In addition, they can also touch their faces many times whenever they eat food, and the particles stick to their facial feathers.
So, pigeons are docile creatures with loving natures that prefer to show affection towards their owners and their mating partners frequently.
Furthermore, this behavior is mainly seen among adult birds when they mate, and the squabs or baby birds cannot engage in courtship, but they also rub their bills sometimes for other reasons.
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