De forfærdelige forældre

When I moved in, I could see two pigeon nests in the then-bare wisteria on the northwest side of the house. To my surprise, a pair started doing one up earlier this summer, and tried to start a family there, but that didn't go well. To my even greater surprise, about a month ago they started doing up the other nest, and for the last few weeks I've checked in with the brooding hen as I opened and closed the window above to moderate inside temperatures during the heat wave.

The heat has given way to a week of thunderstorms and now some much cooler weather. Day before yesterday I kept hearing what sounded like sneezes from outside my window – can woodpigeons catch cold? Yesterday I looked out and the hen was gone; there was a tiny, still bundle of fluff in the bottom of the nest. It wasn't much larger than an egg, so it looked like she abandoned the chick as soon as it had hatched. At least it's small enough that it won't stink up my office, unlike the last casualties ...

I assume this is the same pair because the other pair of woodpigeons (I believe I have two pairs) had a nest in the euonymus out front, and they have raised their two offspring to very hungry, very demanding adolescence. On one hand, it'd be nice if maybe, next year, this pair get the hang of the parenting thing and can get some chicks to fledge at least. On the other, if they are such clueless parents, maybe it's better for them not to pass on their genes.

... and the applicability to humans has not escaped me ...