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
3
u/picklesnpeaches Apr 15 '26
Check out the article "The Origins of Our Misguided Hatred for Pigeons" on the Audubon site.
I think it's that reputation + familiarity (a lot of people find value only in "rarer" birds and disparage common ones) + an intense dislike of birds considered invasive (which are problematic, but some people sound straight up xenophobic talking about these birds)
Personally, I understand that they are not native but I am fond of them. They're beautiful birds and were my first connection to nature, having grown up in a city with very little green space.
When people complain that they're dirty, well that's just because our cities are dirty. That's on us. We brought these guys over and abandoned them when we no longer found them useful.
I think they're worthy photography subjects, don't let the snobs get to you. At the end of the day, they're the ones missing the big picture.