The often misunderstood, under appreciated and maligned Pigeon

Yes, we’ve all seen them. Look up at most power wires, in the streets of every major city in the world and in your own backyard, you’re likely to see the Columbia Livia, the common rock pigeon.  They are extremely plentiful and are located on every continent on the planet except for Antarctica. In fact, latest estimates indicate there are nearly 400 million pigeons world-wide (some might think most of them are living in their downtowns). Often vilified, and frequently called ‘rats with wings’, there is quite the history to this often-misunderstood bird. 

There are many varieties and names for the Pigeon – Rock Pigeon, Rock Dove, Homing Pigeon, they are all generally one in the same. Pigeons first appeared on this planet roughly 30 million years ago but are not native to North America.  They were introduced into North America in the 1600’s and later brought into America by European settlers as food and for communication. Yes communications. 

Pigeons have the incredible ability to remember their ‘home base’ even thousands of miles away and have been reported to have a magnetic sense called “magnetoreception” which lets them navigate using Earth's magnetic field.  Some studies have found the pigeon to be highly intelligent and are able to differentiate between humans – by facial recognition.  During World War 1 and World War 2, homing pigeons were used by both the Allies and the Axis forces to communicate between the front and home bases. One pigeon – names Cher Ami – was credited in saving the entire 77th battalion – known as the lost battalion – during World War 1.  So significant was their impact, many of these pigeons were awarded medals for their contribution. 

However, despite their apparent populations, the pigeon has had some conservation challenges – specifically the passenger pigeon.  In the 1800s there were an estimated 3-5 billion passenger pigeons in the world.  In fact, during a period of migration, the volume of passenger pigeons flying overhead was large enough block out the sun for long periods of time. Incredibly, despite the enormous volume of passenger pigeons, the last remaining passenger pigeon – Martha – died in 1914 in the Cincinnati Zoo.  Much debate about the cause of the demise of the passenger pigeon – once the most abundant bird on the planet – to being declared extinct in a relatively short period of time.  While some of the causes were obvious – loss of habitat, over hunting (pigeon was a popular food source at one time and very easily hunted), and deforestation were the primary reasons.  Some recent research studies suggest loss of the American Chestnut and other nut producing trees contributed to the demise of the passenger pigeon. Regardless, the eradication of the passenger pigeon is an unfortunate example of the power of anthropogenic impacts.

Today, while there are no longer passenger pigeons, the world is still filled with a wide variety of pigeons – some are kept as pets.  As a matter of fact, one notable keeper of pigeons was none other than the professional boxer Mike Tyson who not only raised fancy pigeons but for many years was very active in racing them.  Many throughout the United States still maintain coops filled with fancy pigeons and racing pigeons.  Although no longer as popular as in the 1980s, there are still Pigeon Racing clubs around the country, and it is not uncommon to see the occasional pigeon with a ‘band’ on its leg indicating it was bred in captivity – likely for either show or racing.  However, if you think the volume of pigeons in the streets of any city is declining or likely to go away anytime soon – not likely.  Pigeons have become very dependent on humans as a food source (primarily food waste).  They have become very adaptive to urbanization and human interaction that its very likely they will be around for as long as humans are.  On the flipside, some may have seen the occasional white pigeon (white doves as well) intermixed with the ‘regular’ pigeons.  Unfortunately, many of these pigeons were raised and released for special occasions (weddings for example) and struggle in the wild after being released having little survival skills. 

So – the next time you see a pigeon downtown eating that discarded French fry, take some time to reflect the long history of the pigeon, its war time contributions and its struggles.   They are here because we forced them to adapt.