Data from: Feral pigeon roosting and nesting occurrences in MRT viaduct expansion gaps and measured variables in Singapore

The feral pigeon (Columba livia) is a globally commensal bird that can
cause dis-amenities such as soiling and is a potential vector of various
diseases. Aside to limiting food as a management strategy, reducing the
availability of roosting and nesting sites can help regulate feral pigeon
populations. Despite their prevalence, current knowledge of their roosting
and nesting preferences is lacking. Feral pigeons commonly use railway
viaduct expansion gaps in Singapore for roosting and nesting. These gaps
provided an ideal experimental platform to examine feral pigeon roost and
nest site selection while controlling for differing cavity sizes which can
significantly affect their reproductive success and site selection
decisions. We also conducted an in-situ experiment to test the efficacy of
nest removal as a management option. Our nationwide surveys of 80.3km of
railway viaducts and 6,048 gaps revealed that feral pigeon day roosting
and nesting preferences are influenced by structural height and more
importantly, their proximity to human food sources. There was a
significantly higher probability of feral pigeon roosting in a gap if it
had more pigeon feeding incidences in its vicinity and was higher. The
probability of feral pigeon nesting in gap was higher if it was closer to
a railway station, lower and further from water bodies. In our field
experiment, we did not find any significant differences in the proportions
of the abundances of feral pigeon to other urban commensal bird species at
the gaps before and after nests were removed. Overall, our results suggest
that a concerted effort to reduce anthropogenic food availability to feral
pigeons is central in limiting their reproductive success and controlling
their population.