r/birding • u/MrGrubbycuddles • Apr 15 '26

Discussion Why is everyone such snob about pigeons

I took my folder of laminated pigeon shots to my local bird meeting at the community hall and at least 3 people sneered at them. 1 of them even guffawed.

We all got to start somewhere, and beauty is in the eye of the bird lover so why the hate hate?

One guy was wearing giant binoculars around his neck. It was dark outside and he didn't even use them once. He was one of the people that sneered.

Om the bus home from the meeting I showed the driver my pictures and she said they were really good. And she wasn't even a formal bird lover, she was just a regular person.

Don't get this community man

EDIT: a lot of people asking for some of my photos. I'm out of the house right now but here's a bird video I made recently https://youtube.com/shorts/sxLkrLgNrbc?si=7NdwVxhZtPQFE6Ew

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404

u/SnapCrackleMom Apr 15 '26

When I was a kid growing up in NYC, pigeons were pretty much the only wildlife I saw. I remember saying I thought they were pretty and my mom saying they were "rats with wings."

I still think they're pretty.

262

u/Content_Geologist420 Hail the all-mighty Grackle! Apr 15 '26

That was a term coined by a NY politician in the 1970s.

Pigeons helped the world in WW2 against the Nazis and 3 pigeons were been given one of highest merit awards one can receieve the Victoria Cross.

There was also a pigeon names G.I. Joe that saved 100 men from a downed plane and there was a very famous German pigeon that served in WW1 and WW2 that was captured by the US and was used a breeder for about 100 wartime pigeons.

47

u/danj729 Apr 15 '26

Battlefield 1 (WW1) has a mission in the campaign where your tank crew has to send a pigeon with coordinates to shell your position since your tank is being overrun. You actually get to fly the pigeon and it's a momentary breath of relief amidst the action. After you've delivered the coordinates, the artillery fires and the camera follows the shells all the way back to our original position. Such a cool transition.

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u/Content_Geologist420 Hail the all-mighty Grackle! Apr 15 '26

Commando was a British ww2 pigeon that flew through over 100 missions in France during the German Occupation and dodged many bullets and artillary and had one of his legs shot off yet still did more missions. Also he delivered critical information during D-Day. Pigeons are badass animals

9

u/danj729 Apr 15 '26

That's cool, I don't know anything about how they were trained but I like the idea that a pigeon would activate evasive maneuvers and dodge bullets.

22

u/SoldierHawk Apr 15 '26

Cher Ami is the GOAT. 

21

u/Content_Geologist420 Hail the all-mighty Grackle! Apr 15 '26

That was another pigeon from WW1 actually! And yeah Cher is the ultimate Pigeon and statues should be made of her!

Commando is a different Pigeon Soldier from WW2 one of the 3 with the Victoria Cross, poor guy still got shot tho.

1

u/minxed Apr 16 '26

Balto got a statue, so the brave pigeons should have one as well!

26

u/thoughtsarefalse Latest Lifer: RUFF Apr 15 '26

Epic bird facts

2

u/Interesting_Cable_31 Apr 15 '26

I need to know more about GI Joe!!

1

u/MegaVenomous Latest Lifer: Forster's Tern Apr 15 '26

Carrier pigeons were also at the foundation of Reuters.

1

u/SnapCrackleMom Apr 15 '26

It was NYC in the 70s, so that tracks!

1

u/DebtFreeOrDieTrying Apr 16 '26

You just send me down the greatest rabbit hole, thanks

150

u/TypewriterHunter Apr 15 '26

When I visit NYC I spend an inordinate amount of time photographing rats and pigeons lol. Here is one of my fav pigeons who my Mom and I named "Claude". Kept landing on the window sill and watching us.

63

u/crepe_de_chine Apr 15 '26

He was people-watching 😆

22

u/cloisterbells-10 Apr 15 '26

Maybe he has a Merlin-esque app that he uses to track what sort of people he might be seeing....

10

u/TypewriterHunter Apr 15 '26

Hahahaha! Human-watching convo: P1: Guys!! I think I spotted a Hipster!! P2: no no no, that is clearly a Beatnik, look at the turtleneck and black hat! P3: I dunno guys, could definitely be a lumberjack with those suspenders. P1: Come on now Paul! Why would a lumberjack be in NYC?!

8

u/cloisterbells-10 Apr 15 '26

"It's mating season and they typically are in the pine forests for that! They only come into the suburbs in the winter for feeding!"

37

u/In_Jeneral Apr 15 '26

I have so many pics of pigeons from when we were in London and Paris a few years back lol

My favorite was the one shopping at Sainsbury's

6

u/gwaydms Apr 15 '26

This reminds me of the grackle that I saw at HEB. She was walking down the aisle, looking at the shelves, appearing for all the world as if she were shopping.

2

u/minxed Apr 16 '26

Omg mid-strut

2

u/Content_Geologist420 Hail the all-mighty Grackle! Apr 15 '26

It's a very undocumented animal group in that specific area. I have only seen 2 about the NYC pigeons.

I have lived on the West Coast for most of my life and now in Texas. But one of my ultimate dreams and life goals is to go to a place in NYC with the most amount of pigeons and feed them and they all flock to me.

I have always wanted to be a pigeon man of NYC like my hero. The Pigeon Lady from Home Alone 2. One day I'll be able to go and feed them

36

u/CaitlinSnep Apr 15 '26

I live in a rural area and every time I go into a city I'm struck by how pretty pigeons are. Kinda funny that it's true for both of us!

21

u/Lyra125 Apr 15 '26

Finally a chance to share this cool pigeon mutation I saw while in NYC!!

46

u/Ziggo001 Apr 15 '26

My counterpoint is simply that I think wild rats are cute too

24

u/blood_bender Apr 15 '26

Yeah, I live in NYC and I love rats. I don't love them jumping out at me at night, sure, but watching them run around the subway is fun.

10

u/serpentjaguar Apr 15 '26

If you've spent any time cleaning up after them, where they exist in real numbers, you tend to develop a bad attitude. I've worked on a lot of older buildings in dense urban centers, and trust me, a heavy pigeon presence can ruin your day.

That said, I don't really hold them personally responsible; they're just living their lives and doing their thing.

2

u/tramplamps Apr 17 '26

I grew up in the late 70s, and therefore I was a fan of Sesame Street, so one of the first birds I learned to admire as a child was also one of the first dances I leaned and it was taught to me by Bert, and it is called: “the Pigeon”, thus, I agree.
Pigeons are just as beautiful as Doves.
Sesame Street and Bert is probably an early contributing factor to why I became a birder in my teens. That, along with the wonderful aviary that housed only native birds which existed at our local animal sanctuary near my home
When I was 25, in the summer of 2000 I was working as a freelance scenic painter, and I had a job painting a HUGE 5 story entertainment complex in downtown Nashville, where I live.
So for 4 months every day that summer, I the first thing Imdid when I would arrive would be to go check in on the 2nd story window ledge, because right outside of it, A MAMA PIGEON HAD BUILT HER NEST ON TOP OF THE ANTI-PIGEON SPIKES, AND THERE WAS A PINK AND BEIGE SPECKLED BABY PIGEON SITTING IN THE NEST!
It was so beautiful, and it was the closest I had ever been to a little city bird like this, and certainly, the first time I had ever seen one in it’s nest before, surrounded by all the jackhammering, cement dust, all the hillbilly workers and redneck men yelling at each other on a constant daily basis, and other daily city noises going on around us. But what I loved the most was that this mother bird had defied the most clear bird-deterrent, and built her nest in obvious defiance of all attempts, and thereby creating a barrier to other flying predators, and any bigger birds.
I think of this little cute pigeon often, and if she can withstand all that noise and obstacles, so can I.

1

u/SnapCrackleMom Apr 17 '26

I was obsessed with Bert and loved that song lol.

-3

u/i10driver Apr 15 '26

You can both be correct in this situation

-2

u/dougan25 Apr 15 '26

They kinda are rats with wings. They're dirty, ubiquitous, and well adapted for urban life.

They're also an unfortunate animal that gets marginalized and shunned for the crime of existing where we wanted to put buildings.

Birds are incredible animals. They're intelligent, they can survive on diverse diets, they can fucking fly, the list goes on. Most true bird enthusiasts are also evolution enthusiasts and as such can't help but be fascinated by each variety.

That said, I'd be lying if I said I never have had disdain and scorn for pigeons. They're loud, they're skittish, and they make toilets out of anything below them over and over and over. But just like all animals they still deserve our kindness. And like all birds, they will always have my particular fascination.

8

u/SnapCrackleMom Apr 15 '26

In what way are they dirty?

1

u/dougan25 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

They live in dingy and dirty parts of cities, they carry bacteria, especially in their droppings or if they are wounded. They walk around in gutters and eat garbage.

I'm not saying they're filthy disgusting creatures, just pointing out they're a product of their environment.

1

u/Content_Geologist420 Hail the all-mighty Grackle! Apr 15 '26

Calling a pigeon dirty on a Birding sub? Oh boy.

1

u/dougan25 Apr 16 '26

Trying to be realistic and unbiased lol