On Pigeons and Windows

Here's something I learned about birds today: they can see ultraviolet light.

I learned this after doing some research into how to keep birds from hitting windows. Big, chunky band-tailed pigeons to be exact. Fortunately, we’ve not had any pigeons wind up dead. But we have had some pigeon-window impacts that have proved startling to my wife and puppy.

Somewhat humorously, the pigeons tend to leave smears of their bodies on the window on impact, with surprising detail in the breast and wing feathers. Think a cartoon character leaving a perfect body-shaped hole after being blown through a wall.

Anyway, what does this have to do with birds seeing ultraviolet light? Well, I came across this special roll-on liquid designed to be applied to windows. When dried, it’s nearly invisible to humans, but reflects ultraviolet light. Meaning it makes windows stand out like neon signs to birds.

We’ve applied it the biggest windows facing our bird feeders. Hopefully it will cut down on pigeon strikes. At the very least, the experience has given me one more reason to be in awe of birds.

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