They fly at speeds of around 70km and hour, can live for up to 25 years and even Queen Elizabeth is a fan, it seems there is more to pigeons than Trafalgar Square and Mary Poppins. In gritty British drama, Pleasure Island, they form a backdrop for a much darker tale of drugs and corruption. To celebrate the film’s release, in cinemas on August 14th, we reveal ten things you may never have known about our feathery chums.
1) Pigeons can live for up to 25 years
2) A pigeons maximum flying speed is around 70km an hour and they can fly up to 900 km a day, sometimes even more
3) One of the many reasons why pigeons can fly so easily is because their bones are fulfilled with air
4) The first long-distance pigeon race was between London and Belgium and was held in 1823
5) A hatching period lasts for 18 days and both male and female pigeons have the reasonability of hatching eggs. The male hatches during the day and the female at night
6) According to various scientists, pigeons use the sun and Earth’s magnetic field for navigation and they can find their way back home from distances as far as 2000km away
7) Pigeons don’t have teeth, their seeds are swallowed in one piece with small pieces of sharp sane and stones, these action as teeth when the pigeon moves its gizzard muscles
8) Word of Napoleon’s downfall at Waterloo reached England by pigeon 4 days before the fastest couriers
9) Pigeon faeces was previously a highly prized fertiliser and considered more effective than farmyard manure
10) In India it is thought that when a person dies their soul assumes the form of a pigeon
Pleasure Island is released in cinemas on August 14th.
Pleasure Island follows army veteran Dean (Ian Sharp) who returns to his hometown of Grimsby to find unexpected animosity and threats. When the life of his childhood friend Jess (Gina Bramhill) is threatened he will do all it takes to make sure she is safe. Conner Chapman (The Selfish Giant), Rick Warden (Indian Summers) and Samuel Anderson (Doctor Who) also co-star. Matt Kennard co-produces.
