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Last week I discussed Homing Pigeons; now it’s time for an introduction to the strange world of Roller Pigeons. These birds (also known as Birmingham Rollers) are bred for a genetic defect which causes brief seizures during flight — causing the birds to roll in mid-air. Breeders hold competitions in which they attempt to synchronize the birds’ seizures, measuring the length and quality of the resulting aerial acrobatics. Generally the birds recover before hitting the ground.
If that’s not odd enough, there’s a dark side to some “roller clubs” — club members allegedly trap and kill raptors that sometimes prey on their roller pigeons (the predators are attracted by the unusual flapping of the birds while they “roll”). An undercover investigation called Operation High Roller recently resulted in seven arrests in southern California and three charges in Oregon. (Read more on the California arrests in an LA Times article [requires registration] or the Oregon charges in a Salem News article.) The California men are charged with killing an incredible 1,000 to 2,000 raptors annually. From the LA Times article: “When you take out a predatory bird, you’re taking out the upper end of the food chain,” said Special Agent Lisa Nichols of the Fish and Wildlife Service. “It blows the balance of everything.”
Further reading: news release from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Comments (14)
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I’m struck by the press release on the Birmingham Rollers website which, after denying any support for the killings, goes on the say why things like, “The fact that they may not be suited to living in the wild does not render them defective or unworthy of protection, any more so than most dog breeds should be considered defective or worthy of elimination because they are not suited to survival in the wild.” When I look at videos like [no links allowed, so search for "Re: Wholly Rollers are Birmingham Rollers" on youtube], that looks pretty defective to me.
They also say: “… when thousands of our valuable pet pigeons are killed by Cooper’s Hawks whose current numbers far exceed any previous hawk population estimates, our pleas for assistance to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are met with silence.” I know I’d be heart broken if my (mut) dog got eaten by a cougar or something, but I’d like to think that I wouldn’t stoop to unlawful killing in response.
posted by Mary on 6-18-2007 at 10:03 am
These people are whacks.
1. A genetic disposition to seizures mid-flight is quite fairly called a DEFECT. ReSpeaking into a “genetic trait” is weasel wording.
2. Sure, many dogs would not do well in the wild. That is why their owners keep them inside, or in a protected area if they live amidst wolves, cougars, etc. If your pets are low on the food chain (like pigeons), it is wise to keep them out of the range of those that prey upon them. Are you too stupid to see this? EIther keep them inside or move someplace that doesn’t have Cooper’s Hawks.
3. Raising defective birds prone to being preyed upon and then placing them at risk seems pretty twisted to me! Where is the Humane Society?
4. They’d have more of a case with Fish & Wildlife if the predators were non-indigineous. They are however, native, so tough noogies.
Straight talk from Sid.
posted by Sid Morrison on 6-18-2007 at 11:39 am
Give ‘em hell, Sid & Mary.
Blowing reefer smoke into your dog’s face as an adolescent is one thing, but it’s only temporary silliness. This is a little beyond the pale. Should we genetically encourage Tourettes Syndrom for entertainment purposes? I mean, what real purpose is there in breeding these pigeons? At least other domesticated animal breeds have had a function, if only to be nice to look at. This is the first I’ve heard of selective breeding for a cheap laugh. At least the quirks of other animal breeds were unintended!
Jaysus!
posted by Bassman on 6-18-2007 at 1:57 pm
Are these the same people that selectively breed for cross-eyed banjo players?
posted by n2y2 on 6-18-2007 at 4:26 pm
Am I the only one who immediately heard Hannibal Lecter talking about “Deep Rollers” and how if both of Clarice’s parents were deep rollers she was going to hit the ground and die?
Just Curious.
posted by Sara on 6-19-2007 at 7:33 pm
The true idiots on this site are the ones that took everything the Feds. had to say as gospel, instead of doing some research on their own.
Sid, you say keep them inside or move somewhere without Coopers’ hawks. This statement is truly ignorant and could have been avoided with a little research. These birds are bred to perform in the air not in a cage. Hawks migrate so no matter where you live, you do not get away from hawks. Coopers’ are only one of the hawks that attack our pigeons.
To condemn something that you don’t take the time to try to understand is a sign of total ignorance.
posted by Tracey on 9-22-2007 at 10:57 pm
this whole article is crap people who raise rollers vary from physicians engineers law enforcement military personnel and scientist and i can back that up but for people to say these bird have a gentic defect and have siezures to my knowledge there is no scientific proof to back that up and how could you sincronize a siezure these birds can control when they roll cause when one rolls it causes a reaction and they all start to roll and pigeon breeders breed for depth velocity and consistancy not for siezures and hawks do attack and kill our birds its not right to kill or trap hawks but people should get facts straight before passing on a bunch of crap and making pigeon breeders look like a bunch of hawk killers were not all alike
posted by dennis on 9-26-2007 at 12:52 am
Dennis – take another look at the article above. I believe you’ll see that I am not painting all roller pigeon breeders as hawk killers. I’m sorry if you got that impression, but it’s not supported by the text. The article is focused on Operation High Roller, which targeted a specific subset of roller clubs, and this is clearly explained above.
As for whether the tumbling is caused for seizures or because the birds want to do it, I’m not an expert — however, the popular consensus on the issue (at least on the web) appears to be that this behavior is indeed caused by seizures. Do you have any data on this issue, either way?
posted by Higgins on 9-26-2007 at 8:38 am
Trait is the proper description. It is genetically locked into the bird as a recessive gene.
I can also understand the desire to protect thier property. I believe that is a natural reaction; they just need to find a legal way of doing it. They also need to change thier habits and learn the habits of bitds of prey and do what they can to avoid attacks and radicate the bird of prey’s habitate and concealment. They also can seek permits to capture birds of prey.
posted by Nick Siders on 11-25-2007 at 12:16 am
You can use herbs to stop birds of prey attacking you kit.
posted by Barry on 1-31-2008 at 9:13 am
Ive been in pigeons 60 yrs,racing and roller pigeons,most of the answers i see, are from lack of knowledge,pigeons are the oldest sport known to man,they are the only animal that can see ultra violet lights, the only animal that can hear ultra sonic sounds,can return home from half way around the world,have saved thousands of our soldiers lives,these birds are in every war. they are now being used to spot people lost at sea,because of their keen eye sight,they are used in England to fly blood samples from hospital to the lab, in minutes,it takes over on hour the old way,by car.Man has bred them to fly longer,and faster,some have even arrived home after dark,think about that, flying in the dark,wow…As for the rollers, man has developed and bred these birds to spin with controlled activity and patterns,and for you guys who want more info,look up other acrobats such as Donak,pigeons,Parlor Rollers,Tipplers,Galentez rollers, Moriscar rollers Whittingham rollers,I can name many more birds that perform,if need be,So if a member of YOUR family was ever in the ARMY ask him or her about the Signal Corps, they may have a little info for you,these are the guys that handled the birds.These birds are very intelligent they are doing great things,so DONT be too quick to judge,WHAT HAS A HAWK DONE FOR YOU TODAY?
posted by Harry Ashcraft on 2-7-2008 at 5:29 pm
It amazes me how IGNORANT some people are.If you don’t know anything about a subject,please don’t be so fast as to show us HOW ignorant you really are. I know that the hawks are a protected bird.Their needs to be checks and balances.The hawks have no preditors to control their population.Too many BLEEDING hearts out here.We need to get back to a means of control.What ever happend to the natural way of doing things??
posted by PAUL DERSCH on 2-11-2008 at 11:55 am
What are the herbs used to avoid attacks of BOP on my birds? That would be very interesting and there are a lot of people who would be interested.
Again, I want to reinterate that the rolling is not a defect. It is a trait. Birmingham Rollers will shut the roll off when being pursued by BOP and if they go ferrel living and flying with common pigeons will cease rolling. It is a trait that is born from a ressesive gene. That is why not all Birmingham Rollers roll and if you breed them to a non-rolling breed the roll is sometimes lost.
It is not a defect! It is not a siesure. It is like the hunting dog points or sets….a trait.
Thanks,
Nick Siders
posted by Nick Siders on 2-11-2008 at 1:42 pm
@Sara: Yeah, he did say that in the book didn’t he?
posted by GuesssWho on 6-22-2008 at 6:09 pm