Pigeons have lived alongside man for thousands of year. Their contributions to the advancement of mankind cannot be overstated; however, most people today view them only as loathsome pests. Pigeons did not always spark this extreme distaste, and on the contrary, were even revered during much of their history. Their amazing capabilities of flight and widely varied diet have allowed them to follow us to every continent except for Antarctica, and such a widespread habitat has led to hundreds of pigeon subspecies. This diversification of traits opened the doors for mankind to select for beneficial attributes both consciously and unconsciously. The pigeon’s love for their home and partner and astounding capabilities of flight and sense of direction led to their great success as messengers for everything from day to day letters to military combat. But even as hundreds of thousands of pigeons sacrificed their lives on the battlefield and in the laboratory to save countless human lives, animosity toward them flourished. Pigeons adapted to live with us over the years as huge populations of feral pigeons moved into our cities sparking fears of disease and defiling buildings with their droppings. This alone was enough to ignite a full on war against an animal that had proved its value for the past 5000 years.
How can such a drastic change in attitude develop in such a short time? Is such a change in heart justifiable? In this blog I hope to expand readers knowledge of pigeons in an attempt to, if not change their view of pigeons as rats with wings, at least open their minds to some of the more positive attributes of pigeons and their interactions with humans. Despite what you might think today, pigeons were not always just city vandals. So now to explore the transformation of the pigeon from messenger of the gods to rat with wings…