# In defense of the 'lowly pigeon'



## TitanicWreck (Jun 12, 2003)

I have come accross a number of references to our fine feral friends as being 'lowly' pigeons-Interestingly, the prejudice often comes from other bird fanciers....Even in the pigeon community, there are some who breed the puffy throated breeds, yet speak with scorn about ferals.
A friend who is a parrot fancier has a deep hatred for pigeons...
I have an old book of North american birds, and the book refers to the pigeon as 'lowly pigeons'. How insulting!

To refer to anything as 'lowly' is quite an insult....

Why? Genetically ferals are rock doves...they are wonderful creatures, and bring joy to my life....So they are able to adapt and multiply- are humans any different?
I just tire of people who dismiss pigeons and mindess unthinking creatures..


Pigeons do feel, they do think, they have the right to exist, and they are important...

On my commute to work there are some readily recognizable individuals I see every day...- I always have a big of seed so they can have breakfast, and it makes me smile to be able to fill thier stomachs.......

For those who are fond of pigeons..Do you sometimes find yourself defending pigeons? One coworker would like to see all pigeons killed...If only she could see what wonderful beings these pigeons really are...

tarn Stephanos


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Hi TitanicWreck, 

Yes, sadly many people do consider the pigeon a "lowly" animal even within the bird community in general. I too also know someone who is into parrots and feels that pigeons are not very interesting birds (to put it nicely). Not all are like this though and same within the pigeon community at large. Some have little respect for feral pigeons, some have very much respect for them.

I think it's because feral pigeons are so common and plentiful, people never appreciate animals that are everywhere and successful. Now if they were a rare bird, people would have a different view of these wonderful pigeons and would likely even want them protected. 

The passenger pigeon was a bird slaughtered beyond comprehension and is now extinct. People at that time probably hated them for their numbers and felt they were a nuisance. Today, this mass extinction serves to remind all people of how precious all life is and most people would admit that this was a tragic loss of a species.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Thank you for sharing your feelings with us. I agree with what you have said.

I always feel very sad, when I think about all our feral pigeons must indure. I have great respect for them as I know how smart they are and how they try to eek out an existance in substandard environments created for them by human beings. They manage as best as they can and I certainly feel that it is everyone's duty to help them, as they would any other kind of wild bird, but even more so because of their undeserved reputation. 

I understand how you feel as I also feel the need to defend them, given the opportunity, and I think everyone here feels the same way. We have to be positive and educate when the opportunity arrives, and do our share to promote a better image thru education.

I bring my pet, Skye, and other pigeons to visit my nieces and nephew and let them ask me all kinds of questions to which I answer very carefully. They are excited about my pigeons and always ask me to bring them over. They are given a rare opportunity to learn the truth, the truth I learned from my father when I was a child. He tought me everything about pigeons and their phenominal instinct of flying home and remembering where they are from distances far away. They are truly the great thoroughbreds of the sky. We took them to the mountains in San Bernadino California, to Long Beach, and other great distances and they happily flew home in record times. I would joyfully anticipate their return and feed them straight from my hand as they came out of the sky. Hopefully my nieces and nephew will grow up to share their knowledge and change others opinions in a world that is everchanging.

People have made comments like that to me, and it is just plain ignorance, as they just don't know any better. I tell them to come on over and see what my pigeons can do, watch their graceful flight, watch them talking to each other, and I can tell them what they are saying to me and each other. I show them what wonderful parents they make and what fun I have watching them and the happiness these birds generate, and their flight is so relaxing to watch, much better then many forms of entertainment.

There is nothing like seeing your pigeons, flying overhead, circle the house, feel the breeze of their wings, and hear the whisper of the wind, it's art in motion. I feel incredibly privileged to have them and know what joy they bring to me and my family. 

Treesa


----------



## feralpigeon (Feb 14, 2005)

TitanicWreck said:


> Genetically ferals are rock doves...they are wonderful creatures, and bring joy to my life....So they are able to adapt and multiply- are humans any different?
> I just tire of people who dismiss pigeons and mindess unthinking creatures..
> 
> 
> ...


Hi Stephanos,

You've made some interesting points about the ferals. And yes, of course, they are a "hot" topic especially in SF, CA where Mayor Gavin Newsomb has made it a "finable" offense to feed them. I guess you could stand on a corner and feed red-winged black birds all you want, but if one pij showed up, you'd become illegal. "His" ordinance has made the city's ferals an even more despicable lot, as they are truly struggling for survival and they've become quite the scruffy looking lot in less than two years. As bad a reputation as the City of Oakland has, the pigeons here look so handsome in comparison.
All this against the backdrop of SF being one of the "progressive" cities where
Avitrol has been banned. 

It is interesting that "intelligence" becomes a measuring device for the right to live. Seems we have yet to develop an unbiased test for measuring human intelligence let alone that of other forms of life. But even so, it is said that a pigeon's "symbolic intelligence" is comparable to that of a grade school child. Like Koko the gorilla, they have shown an ability to learn "human" forms of communication, ie, the alphabet. It's unfortunate that the animal kingdom has to learn our mode of communication before we can "intelligently" assign an intelligence score to them. A seeming contradiction.......

fp


----------



## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

Great comments Treesa and FP


----------



## Rrune (Jul 23, 2005)

hi, 

I live on a working farm. Twenty acres out front and twenty behind me. I rent the old migrant farmworkers bunkhouse. There is a tractor building next to me that supports a small flock of ferals. I have been here 3 seasons now and have managed to transform my bare dry yard into a wonderful green oasis. It is fenced now to keep predators from harming the 12 bantam hens which reside here as my little garden friends. 

At first this wild flock of pigeons barely took notice of my yard, flying by only to be headed to the fields each day to scratch out their existance. Slowly my yarden (garden/yard) has become their morning and evening meal stop. I don't really mind since i do overfeed my girls and they never eat all that i provide. Recently i added a fountain feature which is a block of concrete with a center terracotta bowl which flows down to a submerged feed bucket in the ground. It sits outside my window where i sit at the computer thru the day. I get to watch them and learn their personalities, who is male, who is female, relationship, etc. I am taken by them even to the point of giving them names. My chickens do not give them much notice and often get out of the way when the flock is here for their morning baths and frequent visits. 

My landlord spoke about how much he hates them since his tractors are constantly covered in droppings, however, i reminded him that his building is such that there is no one else to blame but himself since it is open on two sides. He threatened shooting them, but i asked him not to based on the safety of my own; so far so good. 

I try not to interfere with my emotions when the hawks come thru to cull the flock, nor do i interfere when a sickly soul finds a peaceful refuge in my garden to die. I think my only real job here is exactly what i am doing, regular feeding times and clean fresh water everday. I have food grade diatomaceaus earth in the feed which could prevent them from getting worms and in my chickens waterers placed around my yarden i periodically add vinegar treatments and bleach treatments for any bacterial problems. I am certain the pigeons and doves benefit from this as my hens do. I can only imagine that my presence here has added to this wild flock's overall health. 

I occassionally feel guilty for not lending a hand when someone comes in and is unable to fly. I trust that mother nature in her infinite wisdom is at work, and my help in those matters is not a beneficial one. I know there are local cases of west nile virus and there is not much i can do otherwise except to control mosquito populations from occuring. It is just hard to watch the cycle of life fulfill itself at times. Yet when the newest arrivals begin to leave the nest and visit my yarden, i cannot help but become excited at how unique each one of them is and know deep in my heart that there is opportunity to grow into adulthood and win a potential partner's heart here in my sanctuary. How fortunate i am to be witness to all of this and help in the smallest measures possible. 

In all my heartfelt provisions here it is still difficult to remain heartless to the weakened or injured souls of my world, and my level of pity gets to me at times but i know i cannot reach out otherwise. I say a blessing when i remove their lifeless bodies and hope in some small way i did ok by them. 

Biggest Huggs, ...Ron


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi Ron,

Thank you for your care and concern of our feral flock in your part of the world.

I'm sure what you are giving them to eat and drink is very beneficial to them. I use the apple cider vinegar and diatomaceous earth myself on my domestic birds, as there are great benefits in it. I also give mine probiotics and garlic with favorable results. 

I'm sure your kindness is appreciated in many respects, as your flock probably is looking very well and quite healthy, and they are feeling better. They are enjoying life, which you have made possible, when many ferals elsewhere struggle to eek out an existance.

It is sad sometimes, as mother nature takes its course. We try to intervene and help and sometimes it is rewarding, other times, there is nothing more that we can do, then to give the bird a warm shelter, on a soft little piece of wool cloth, in our company, and let it pass in quiet comfort & peace.

Thank you for adding to our thread, and feel free to post again, also if you need any help with one of Gods' noble ferals. They are part of all God's creation, it is a shame, many people can't see that.

Treesa


----------



## TitanicWreck (Jun 12, 2003)

Its good to know that there are people here who treat the pigeons with kindness....
But those who seek to harm pigeons baffle me..Just today I was having lunch in the Boston Common,and feeding the pigeons, and several people who walked by tried to kick the piegeons....
Why??????


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

TitanicWreck,

I'm sorry you have to hear such negativity and see such cruel behavior going on around you. I understand that would get depressing after a while. Did you get a chance to say something to them?

I would have felt like saying, " Boy you're really tough, aren't you?... trying to kick a defenseless creature. Why don't you pick on someone your own size & see what happen ....and while your'e at it, ... get a life."

Treesa


----------



## Parrot_Lady (Aug 11, 2005)

I personally feel that bird fanciers who dismiss ANY type of avian as "lowly" or worse, actually keep their birds as sort of trophy-pets, and people like that have no business whatsoever owning birds to begin with.

If it makes you feel any better, parrot fanciers also are deeply divided amongst themselves, particularly when it comes to species of grass-parakeets. I've heard the most devoted parrot person turn around and claim budgies (and usually cockatiels, and a few other grass parakeet species) are "useless birds", and most claim parakeets don't even belong in the "parrot" family! (Wrong! If it's a hookbill, it's a parrot, end of story). To such people I usually point out that it's a budgegriar, a common-variety corner-store parakeet, who holds the record for largest vocabulary (over 1600 words), not an African Grey, not a Macaw.

It can be a bit ridiculous, speaking of African Greys... there's even hostility between the two varieties of greys! Some will swear by the larger, lighter Congo, and claim the Timneh Grey, smaller and darker, is either a "fake" Grey or a sorry excuse for one. This, in particular, has led me to my trophy theory... Congo's are by far the bigger & prettier birds, and learn to speak much better, but Timneh's make the better companions.

As you know by the nick, I'm a parrot-person. But I consider myself a BIRD fancier who shares her home with parrots and the occasional wild _ (insert: Starling, Crow, house-sparrow, pigeon, woodpecker, Night Heron [THAT was interesting!] etc etc etc). My recommendation to pigeon-fanciers who come across parrot fanciers that dismiss pigeons as lowly & useless birds? If another parrot person said something like that to me, I'd probably point out to them that yeah, that line of thinking is what got the passenger pigeon wiped out... right alongside the Carolina Parakeet.

Actually a Conure, but Conures are a variety of parakeet, the Carolina Parakeet was the ONLY native parrot to the United States, and a true beauty... gone forever with the rest of the "lowly" bird species. True bird lovers have to understand that all winged animals are currently at the mercy of humanity... and to dismiss one variety or species opens up a lot of very dark doors... THAT is something even parrot people should understand, and certainly not a path anyone would rationally choose.

Take care,

Anita


----------

