On 2013-06-01 13:53:53 +0100, Janet said:

In article , says...

On Sat, 01 Jun 2013 09:34:34 +0100, Sacha wrote:

Does anyone know why wood pigeons lie down in the grass on our lawn?
We've seen several of them do it but can't say we've noticed it
particularly before this year. It doesn't seem to matter whether the
grass has just been cut or not, nor whether it's rained or is dry.
They're alone when they do it and often remain stationary for several
minutes. We haven't noticed that the collared doves do it, only the
wood pigeons, it seems.

Not lying on ants nests, by any chance, to get themselves cleaned of
parasites?

I've seen crows hens and pheasants all do the same thing, spreading
their wings and fluffing the other feathers. They will do it in dust (or
their favourite, bonfire ash) but also do it on lawns, as if sunbathing.

I'm not sure if ants on lawns play any role but certainly birdmites
exposed to light, will make a run for it into a shadier hiding place
(like the spot beneath the bird).

Janet

They're not dust-bathing or spreading their wings. They're just lying
there, neatly tucked in, as if simply having a nice quiet rest on the
lawn. They make no movement whatsoever, to the point where Ray wasn't
certain about what creature he was seeing this morning. He even
considered some frightened rabbit or hare because unlike me, he hasn't
seen them do this before. There is no ants' nest, no nothing to be seen
other than dozy pigeons. Occasionally, they get up, move about a bit
and lie down again. I've now seen this about half a dozen times and
then the bird gets up and flies off.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk