Pigeon Puzzle

Photo: © U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Scientists are asking people everywhere to help them solve a pigeon puzzle. And you can join the fun!

Here's the puzzle:

• Long ago people bred pet pigeons to have different looks, including lots of color patterns.
• Some of these pet birds escaped and have been breeding on their own ever since.
• When most kinds of tame animals return to the wild, over the years, they wind up looking alike. But not pigeons. They keep their different looks.
• Scientists want to know why, and that's where you come in.

Here's your mission:

	Go out and find some pigeons to watch.
	Collect information about them.
	Send your findings to Project PigeonWatch.
	How? Ask a parent or teacher to log on to birds.cornell.edu/pigeonwatch with you. Then sign up online, learn more about pigeons, print out your study sheets, and send in your findings!

Happy pigeon-watching!