"PIGEONS IN THE SQUARE" "One goal of this film is to interest young people in the behavior of a familiar animal and teach them to develop a method of observatÌon." "lN MEMORY OF YLLA ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHER based on knowledge and its expressÌon, teachers may choose to use only the images and add a personal commentary" "corresponding to the level and knowledge of their students." "Paris has 200 public gardens, large and small." "Pigeons perch on monuments, buildings ... statues ... and trees," "they invade parks during working hours." "Look at all the different colors." "That one's brown and white." "All pigeons have purple and blue necks." "No, not all of them." "No, all pigeons aren't blue." "Some are white black, grey, salmon, or pink." "Some are all one color some are speckled, mixing several colors or pigments among their 2,500 feathers, forming different patterns, symmetrical or not, characteristic of each one." "The body is ovoid like an egg." "At the large end is the head, at the other, the tail." "They all belong to the same family." "They all come from the same parents, called rock pigeons." "All pigeons descend from wild rock pigeons." "The 300 types of pigeons created from multiple cross breedings include the well-known city pigeons." "Semi domesticated pigeons sometimes crossed with pigeons escaped from special breeders,- carrier pigeons, turtledoves, racing pigeons, pouters, archangels, fantails, tumblers, croppers, turbits, rumblers, etc," "This slate-blue rock pigeon, 12 inches long, has an iridescent throat two black bands on each wing, and a black band at the tip of its tail." "The wing tip bands vary from one bird to another and are symmetrical or not, in the form of chevrons." "The wings, when closed against the body, cover the tail leaving the remiges jutting out," "Between the wings, the lower back shows the color of the body, lf this is white it forms the "speculum"." "lts feet are bright red." "The wood pigeon is larger, with white spots on its forewing and on the side of its neck." "lts throat is an iridescent green." "Beaks come in various colors and can be straight or hooked." "On the head at the base of the beak is a fleshy growth called the "cere", pÌerced by the nostrils." "The beak is used for eating, cleaning, working, and fighting, and its edges, worn down by frequent sharpening, are constantly renewed." "This young beak is long and still soft." "The color of the iris varies but the eyes define the pigeon." "The eyelid has a special movement," "the neck allows the head to tilt up or down and make a full turn horizontally, left or right." "The foot has three front digits and a thumb at the rear that reinforces its grip on the ground or when perching, each digit ends in a claw." "Varying from 45 to 59 degrees fahrenheit the feet can be used to cool the body, which is at 104 degrees." "The feathers, which usually cover only half the foot, grow down to the claws in some breeds." "Many pigeons have sickly feet, they change color and become scaly and thick," "the toes curl up," "It hurts the pigeon to hop," "then the toes fall off." "The pigeon walks around merrÌly on the stump," "the other foot grows diseased in turn, the bird now has two stumps." "Eventually It can't perch anymore." "As a result of viruses birdlime and paint, the pigeon is crippled and dies." "Let's look at how pigeons walk." "Look at those pigeons." "Look at the one coming near us." "Let's give them some rice." "That'll be good." "Let's take a look at how they walk." "The outdoor classroom," "When a pigeon walks, the body rolls from side, to side as it advances and it pitches forward." "And the neck moves like this." "Does the neck do that when the foot is raised or when the foot touches the ground?" "When it's raised." "So you think it does this, and then does this when it touches the ground?" "Each pigeon has its own style, according to its walking speed." "But all show the initial neck movement, the consecutive forward movements of the feet bring on the rolling and pitching of the body, visible depending on the angle of observation,- from below, from the side from above or straight-on." "Arms at your sides..." "Roll and pitch." " They're not doing both." " Now they're getting it." "Not easy, is it?" "It's hard to roll and pitch." "Look straight ahead." "Look at a line on the horizon." "This walk is difficult to imitate because the human leg bends forward whereas birds' legs bend backward, Iike the human ankle." "Thanks to slowmotÌon it's easier to see the basic synchronization." "With both feet on the ground, the neck is stretched out." "When one foot's raised toes straight or curled in, it moves forward and the body rolls to the side of the foot that will touch the ground." "By showing the bird walking forwards and backwards - only possible on film, because birds can't walk backwards - the rolling motion is easier to see." "Pigeons hop only to change levels," "Sparrows, lighter and always ready to take flight, move around on the ground exclusively by hopping." "But pigeons change how they walk for the mating season." "How does the male seduce the female?" "The courtship begins with the male chasing the smaller and thinner female giving her small pecks." "It may continue in a tree where the female has taken refuge." "During the mating dance, the male struts turning in circles around the female puffing up his chest, fluffing his feathers, lowering his head, and sweeping the ground with his wide-spread remiges." "His steps are jerky, Iike a cripple's, punctuated by ridiculous little hops." "The female may flee, but if he's won her over an exchange of pecks, of varying duration, now follows." "She crouches down and the male climbs onto her for a brief second." "Here, a member of the vice squad intervenes." "The neck movements are part of the mating behavior for both." "Here, a dominant pigeon pushes aside the chosen one." "The mating process must be constantly renewed to ensure the maturation of the sex glands, fertilization, egg-laying and hatching - one or two eggs, once or twÌce a year." "Pigeons feed on seeds and assorted rubbish even dirt." "Many people feed them, though it's officially a 20-franc fÌne." "Always on the alert, their sight and hearing play important roles." "Here we observe dominance in action a matter of strength, circumstance instinct or greater motivation." "This bird banishes his colleague with the slap of a wing." "A peck of a beak or slap of a wingtip might have gouged this eye out." "A friendly game for a piece of crepe." "Today's big match is broadcast live from the stadium!" "Hello, Paul-Alired, Can you hear me?" "No, he can't hear me," "Hello, Pierre-Georges, I do!" "How are you?" "fine, thanks." "And you?" "I'm okay, You okay?" "Yes, I'm okay." "Now we'll hear the broadcast of a marvelous game between two bush-league teams, the series opener." "Ben Birdy's left-wing attack seems unstoppable!" "But Malcolm Yolk makes a fabulous steal!" "Emilio Egghead now in possession," "Now an irresistible break away by David Down menaces the defense!" "The captain's tactics have never been so ineffective!" "The french team completely outnumbered, is in great form!" "Despite his injury, Stepanovich Owlinsky is back on the field?" "A beautiful pass in a classic game!" "A brilliant block!" "The ref." "Mr. Sparrow, is very upset." "Ben Birdy is penalized for shouting "Caramba!" Ìn Portuguese." "The ref stinks!" "What a brutal match!" " Pull his ears off?" " Put his eyes out!" "Obscene insults!" "It's turned into a free-for-all," "Crazed fans have rushed onto the field and seized the ball." "I can't see too well, the ref stops the game, magnificently dominated by the French team, who has lost by only 27 to 3, with a three-point play by Moliere!" "Water is as essential to pigeons as food." "When they drink, their beak remains in the water whether in a gitter, on the sidewalk in a puddle or fountain, whereas other birds raise their heads to swallow." "Naturally, aquatic birds like ducks drink as they eat." "Water provides a bath or shower, they fluff up their feathers to cleanse them of parasites such as fleas, Iice or ticks." "They douche themselves, then flutter their wings," "then they dry off, in a tree, for example ... or on the ground, with wings spread for evaporation and cooling in hot weather." "They preen their feathers with feather powder, putting each barbule back into place." "A pigeon's head always stays above its wing, never beneath it not even to sleep." "lN HOMAGE TO E. J. MAREY" "THE ANIMAL MACHINE - 1873 CHRONOPHOTOGRAPHY - 1894" "Each pigeon has its own way of landing depending on its weight, its wing span, the wind and the site." "With body held vertically, it lands feet fÌrst, toes spread." "During these maneuvers, the wing tip and tail feathers play an important role, and on landing, they fold down, one atop the other, like the blades on a paddle wheel." "The wings are carefully closed, framing the tail." "The maneuver must support the bird but not carry it forward." "Braking is achieved by spreading the wings and tail like a parachute and by a final rapid beating of its wings." "The final wing beats use a heliocoÌdal movement." "The last three beats involve only the top of the wings and last just 1/5 of a second." "ln slow motion, it's easier to see the rotary movement of retraction, and the helicopter-like motions of the wingtips, whose feathers spread horizontally, overlap dragonally." "Here, with nowhere to land the pigeon continues its flight, freeze-frames show how the wings, at the height of their rotary retraction, touch at the tips, of the forewing, and the outside edge." "The movements in takeoff mirror those in landing." "Again, each pigeon has its own style." "The underside of the wings is always white." "The feathers inanimate organs, are held by muscles that stiffen, spread, or flatten them." "Certain pigeons flatten out before leaping into the air with a sudden wingbeat, fast and broad." "Others, on tiptoe, flap their wings before taking off." "Like the last wingbeats before landing, each of the parts contributes to the rotary heliocoÌdal movement of the wing." "The air sacs begin to swell, increasing lift capacity." "The remiges on the wings - primaries for climbing and secondaries for soaring - and the tail rectrices are covered wÌth tectrices like rooftiles, that guide the air flow and repel rain." "The upperside of the wing forms a convex curve, the "extrados", which, depending on the position of the feathers, either channels the air towards the exterior or allows it to pass through, creating a depression as the air rises," "whereas the underside forms a concave curve the "intrados", which compresses the air as the wing descends, while the feathers keep the air from escaping." "The toes are folded and feet tucked into the vertical body that then becomes horizontal at which point the feet are stretched along the belly, lf a pigeon overtakes another, it's due more to the power of Ìts stroke" "then the speed of its wingbeats, similar to swimmers using a butterfly stroke, the tail is outspread as for landing, acting as a rudder, Iike the wingtips." "The wings beat at a decreasing frequency and settle at four beats per second at cruising speed, or 25 mph if there's no wind, or 37 mph when flyÌng in a flock."