The surprising reason why so many city pigeons have missing toes

[Eldorado]

Study co-author Frédéric Jiguet, of the National Museum, told CNN he came up with the idea for the study after noticing mutilated pigeons as he walked through the Jardin des Plantes, a botanical garden, in Paris.

Scientists started by studying the extent of pigeon toe mutilations at 46 different areas dotted around the French capital.

Jiguet and the team found that toe mutilation surprisingly "tended to increase with the density of hairdressers," according to the study.

He said pigeons could lose digits which get stuck in human hair, a phenomenon known as "stringfeet."

MSN

CNN

Edited January 27 by Eldorado