An Observation About Crested Pigeons

Remember the crested pigeons I mentioned earlier? Well, I saw some sleeping on a telephone wire and now I suspect that their crests actually serve a purpose.

When a crested pigeon tucks its head under its wing (as sleeping birds do) its little crest sticks up in front of it. It looks quite a bit like a beak, enough so that (from a distance) the sleeping bird looks like an awake bird! And that just might be a deterrent for stealth predators.

Well done, little birds. Your cute little crests are (possibly) more than just a funky hair-do.

via Joseph Henderer