New in the Zoo: A Bounty of Egg-citing Additions

The other New Year babies were six white rock doves, part of the World of Birds Show flock that closes the presentation. The birds in this flock are a white color form of the familiar pigeons that are denizens of most cities.

Rock doves, generally known as pigeons, are so common that they often go completely unnoticed by humans and yet they have played many important roles in different cultures around the world. Native to Europe, North Africa, and India, they were first domesticated more than 5,000 years ago—second only to chickens. Clay tablets from Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) and Egyptian hieroglyphs depict people and domestic pigeons.

Rock doves' wild relatives nest on cliffs, and this is one reason they have adapted so well to city life where our giant concrete "cliffs" provide them perfect homes. They are low maintenance birds that can thrive in a wide range of conditions. More than 150 different domestic varieties have been developed by humans—some for meat, others for show by fanciers, and still others for their remarkable navigational ability. Scientists discovered that pigeons have special adaptations that enable them to navigate by sensing the Earth’s magnetic fields as well as drawing on sounds, smells, and visual cues based on the position of the sun. Pigeons can find their way back to their home roost even if they are released from a distant location blindfolded. Throughout history, humans have made use of this ability. Pigeon racing is a popular sport in many countries and during World Wars I and II, the U.S. Army Signal Corps used pigeons to carry messages. The birds were more difficult to trace than conventional communication lines. One retired Army bird named Levi lived to be 31 years old. Feral pigeons, though, usually live between two and three years.

Pigeons, like flamingos and male emperor penguins, produce "crop milk" to feed their young. It is not truly milk, but rather a secretion from the upper portion of the birds' digestive system. Pigeons and doves are also the only birds that are able to drink water without having to tip their heads backward.

Avian arrivals from other facilities included 12 speckled mousebirds. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, these gregarious little birds flock together in groups of up to 15—a behavior that gives them an advantage against predators. They are sharing an exhibit with spur-winged lapwings across from Gorilla Grill. Two white-tailed jays are now sharing an exhibit space with the oropendolas. Found only in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru, this is the only species of jay in its range. These dapper birds are very vocal and forage for insects and other invertebrates as well as acorns and grains.

A pair of Siberian eagle owls has settled into Roundhouse 52. If these large raptors seem familiar, it's probably because they are a subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl that is featured in the World of Birds Show.

A new male desert bighorn sheep arrived from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Current research shows that although bighorn sheep are a single species, three living subspecies exist: Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis), Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae), formerly known as California bighorn sheep, and desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), which are native to Southern California and adjacent states. The new arrival settled in just in time for the Super Bowl contest between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, who it turns out are NOT native to Southern California. The L.A. Rams originated in Cleveland in 1936 and did not come to Los Angeles until 1946. In 1994, the franchise relocated to St. Louis, where it stayed for 22 years before returning to L.A. in 2016.