Unloved Nature — Raised in the City
“You have to accept the fact that sometimes you are the pigeon, and sometimes you are the statue.”
- Claude Chabrol
“Doin’ the — coo coo — pigeon”
- Bert
Street Pigeons — Columba livia
I call these pieces “Unloved Nature”, but invariably, with each species, there is someone who loves them. Throughout my life, I’ve met crow cronies and herp nerds and bug lovers. This time, I’m writing about feral pigeons, and they, too have their admirers. After all, they have lived with us for thousands of years, performed military service with distinction, and even entertained us by walking around with an onion ring for a necklace. However, that doesn’t seem to count for much outside of their fan club; they are largely believed to be dirty and dumb. Pigeons, one of the most common animals we see, are more than just feral birds. They are a reflection of our ambivalence about urbanization, our fear of disease, as well as our capacity for empathy.
Street pigeons have orange or yellow eyes and long wings built for speedy flight and graceful gliding. They differ from their wild relatives with their variation in coloration, ranging from asphalt gray to spilled latte tan and white. These plumages aren’t just for looks, though. Darker birds may be able to withstand the higher concentrations of metals in urban areas because of the increased melanin in their feathers. But without artificial selection from domestication, some researchers predict that feral populations will begin to shift their morphology closer to the wild form.
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The pigeons we see in cities around the world are mostly descended from escaped domesticated rock doves (Columba livia), a Mediterranean species partial to grasslands and cliffs. And what do cities, with their steep building faces and grassy parks resemble? Starting 6000 or more years ago, humans domesticated these birds for meat and eggs, which they lay year round. Their guano fertilized crops for centuries. Pigeons also showed an impressive ability to find their way home, which made them useful messengers. With all of these jobs, it made sense that people would breed the birds to be docile and sweet-tempered, a trait they continue to have even now. Even in the 1880s, pigeons were a common domesticated bird, but the chicken won (lost?) to become the top fowl in our markets and freezers. Chickens may rule the menu, but pigeons rule the cities.
Their urban domination was practically assured from the first escapee. Not only can they make a living scavenging our garbage, their ability to breed year round translates to rapid population growth. We may rarely see their young, called squabs, but pigeons are making more of themselves all the time. It all starts with the male pigeon puffing his chest, strutting, and bowing to the female. If Ms. Pigeon approves, they mate, and eventually build a nest on a building ledge, under a bridge or in some other sheltered place. Two or three naked, helpless chicks hatch after 17–19 days. Male and female pigeons can feed their chicks “crop milk”, which is a thick substance secreted from the lining of their crops. Production of this substance is regulated by prolactin, the same hormone involved with the production of mammal (human!) milk. I want to emphasize that this is very strange for a bird to do this — flamingos are the only other birds we know about feeding their babies “crop milk”. For a little over a month, Mom and Dad take care of their squabs, and by the end of that time, the babies look just like the grown-ups and leave home to join another flock.
So the pigeons are just living their pigeon lives, which in urban settings, may only be 2–5 years long. Feral pigeon lives are much shorter than those under domestic care; they may get hit by a vehicle, or even get eaten by hawks or raccoons. They may get poisoned or lose a limb to plastic filament. Meanwhile, we humans are are saying things like, “NOTHING IS WORSE THAN DISCOVERING YOU HAVE PIGEONS ON YOUR PROPERTY” (from a pest control website — all caps not mine), as if humans weren’t already making cities gross with our own refuse and effluvia.
Since we don’t rely on pigeons the way we used to, it may be wise to understand what their role is now. In cities around the world, urban raptors are huge fans of pigeons…in their bellies! In one study, the authors found that pigeons made up around 30% of the prey for urban hawks. Pigeons have been vilified as disease vectors, and they can indeed carry pathogens, but only a few of these germs pose a risk to humans, and transmission rates are extremely low. Truly, the biggest grudge people hold against pigeons is really the fact that they poop on buildings and every other available surface.
Before the turn of the 21st century, mass culling of pigeons was a common tactic. People would shoot them, poison them, and suffocate them. Turns out this approach was both horrible and ineffective. So now there are dozens of other products on the market: plastic raptors (my next band name), balloons, chemical deterrents, recordings of birds in distress, and motion-activated sprinklers, to name a few. But one of pigeons’ superpowers is their adaptability; in a short time, pigeons simply accept these deterrents as part of their environment. Thus, the common sighting of bird spikes holding up a nest.
Nowadays, many cities implement management programs based on local distribution data and habitat modification. Habitat modification dissuades pigeons from moving in; this includes closing off potential nesting and roosting spots, such as gaps under eaves and broken vents. Cleaning up standing water and garbage reduces foraging opportunities, and planting native plants makes the location more friendly to native birds. Using hanging feeders instead of trays or platforms is another way to favor other birds and discourage pigeons. Raptor-friendly practices, such as reducing light pollution and pesticides, are helpful for the entire wildlife community.
Some cities have enacted feeding bans to try to keep pigeon populations at publicly-acceptable levels. But for hundreds of years, people have enjoyed feeding city pigeons, feeling friendly and helpful toward the birds. After all, it’s not the birds’ fault their feet are all messed up from injuries or that they eat garbage. Research indicates that many urban people around the world see pigeons as wild birds and belonging to the natural environment of the city, not as pests that should be wiped out. The nonthreatening, trusting nature of pigeons can encourage empathy in animal-lovers, and this can inspire further acts of conservation. In my opinion, harnessing this care for urban nature in a productive way might yield better results for the health and beauty of our communities.
But there’s a lot of work to do before we get to that point. Despite the fact that pigeons are everywhere, they are extremely understudied. Can you imagine how challenging it would be to be known as Dr. Pigeon in a university biology department, compared to Dr. Grizzly Bear and Dr. Whale? But calling Drs. Pigeon everywhere, we really need your research to understand important topics such as the uptake of contaminants in urban systems and the spread of diseases like West Nile.
One of the things I appreciate the most about writing Unloved Nature is that I end up appreciating these creatures even more than before. It becomes clearer to me that we are interdependent, even with species that have complicated histories and “don’t belong”. Out of all of these creatures on the blog, pigeons probably have the most lovable personality. People think of them as “birdbrains”, but it takes a clever bird to thrive in a complicated environment. I’m pleased to join the esteemed company of Charles Darwin, Nikola Tesla, Mo Willems, and even Bert from Sesame Street, granting the city street pigeon a bit more respect and, yes, even affection.
