When you hear the word pigeon, you probably think of a pest. A pooping city bird that steals your fries. But it turns out that pigeons are all that. In this article, your mind will be changed about the rock dove.
Starting with the first point. Doves are pigeons, and pigeons are doves. Yes, those pretty white wedding birds are pigeons. Why do we like these, and not the humble city pigeon? To prove this point, it is time to bring in taxonomy, or the categorization of organisms. It goes in the order Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Spesies. All doves and pigeons belong to the family Columbidae. And, if we love doves so much we have them at weddings, why not pigeons?
For the second point, there are multiple species of pigeons. The species you probably think of is the rock dove or common pigeon. You’ve also probably also heard of the extinct passenger pigeon. And the dodo was the largest member of the family Columbidae. But, some other pretty pigeons are the Jacobson pigeon, Victoria Crowned pigeons, and bleeding heart doves. Victoria Crowned pigeons don't even look like pigeons. You’d think they are peacocks. But they are pigeons, and they eat poop. And, people will breed pigeons, as well as pigeon beauty pageants.
Point number 3. A history. Pigeons go way back. Back when we were primarily farmers, and the internet was not a concept. Originally, pigeons had roost and nested on rocky cliff faces. And humans were storing their grain in barns. Pigeons would fly away to eat the grain, and eventually humans realized that they always knew where it was and how to get back home. So they domesticated pigeons, or kept them as pets. Which means ancient humans wanted them around. They were used as messengers, and slept in dovecotes. But then, phones and other more efficient messaging came along, and pigeons were forgotten. Cities were built, and the pigeons came too, thinking they were still of use. We have erased this, and hate them now. They just want to be with us and survive. As a side note, it is estimated that all pigeons you see are feral. All their ancestors were domesticated, and now that they are released, they are feral.
Point number 4. Not just pigeon breeders like pigeons. Nikola Tesla said about a pigeon: “I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman, and she loved me. As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.” Charles Darwin loved pigeons, and they helped him understand how evolution worked.
Point number 5. There are famous pigeons too. We’ll showcase the story of Cher Ami. Cher Ami was a soldier. During World War II, multiple pigeons were enlisted in the army as messengers. Cher Ami was one of them, alongside other pigeons such as Mary, Paddy, and G.I. Joe. There was a group of Allies soldiers trapped, and the Allies were planning on bombing the place where the soldiers were being held. The soldiers had Cher Ami send a message. But the pigeon had to cross an active battlefield. The pigeon suffered many blows, as well as one through the chest, but they survived. Cher Ami got the letter to the Allies, and the soldiers were rescued and safe.
Extra Pigeon Facts:
Pigeons can count to 10.
Pigeons can spell some words.
Pigeons can tell the difference between a Mone painting and a Picasso painting.
Pigeons are the only bird to produce milk.
People eat baby pigeons, called squab.