The Pigeon and the Egg

It was so windy today that the seeds and currants we threw onto the patio for the birds mostly got blown into the shrubs and in between the paving slabs before the birds could land. We did notice one lone wood pigeon though, braving the high winds to hunt for the seeds.

We chuckled at the bird trying to stay on its feet whilst the wind was gusting all around and the washing on the line was flapping over its head. And then we noticed that the reason the pigeon was walking funny wasn't because of the wind, but because it had an egg between its legs!

Now I'm no avian expert, but I guess this isn't supposed to happen. The pigeon wasn't actually laying its egg on our patio, it was quite happily eating its lunch showing no concern, seemingly.

You can see the egg better in this close-up. The bird wasn't distressed at all. And it flew away quite normally after a few minutes of seed pecking.

Is this common? Have you seen this before?