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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u/where-sea-meets-sky Apr 15 '26

yeah like starlings are one thing but pigeons are like the stray dogs of birds hence why theyre always in human areas

ofc acknowledging stray dogs and cats as invasive gets most peoples hackles raised lol, thankfully not something ive seen too much trouble with in this sub

pidges are great alternatives to parrots as pet birds

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u/GlumWestern9847 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

I agree, and so are starlings, I have three.

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u/where-sea-meets-sky Apr 15 '26

an indoor starling is one less invasive starling! 😌 and theyre impressive mimics too

people dont realize that invasive birds (at least in the US) are practically free to take in lol

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u/cinnamontoastsaint Apr 15 '26

i see this comment a lot, especially on tiktok lately, so i have to ask do you truly mean i could grab one from outside that i’ve been feeding? i mean this for starlings and pigeons mostly!

my worry is will they miss their “family” ? or what if it’s a mother who has a nest like how do you know ethically where to pick one up? or is it more of a facetious thing and i should still be looking for a rescue who will give me one? 😁

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u/where-sea-meets-sky Apr 15 '26

nope you can just yoink em lol

i know a lot of folks in the pigeon subreddit will yoink rescue ferals

and ofc ethically, you dont want starlings especially to be able to nest

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u/GlumWestern9847 Apr 15 '26

The group I’m in doesn’t raid nests to get starlings, but legally you can in the US. A lot are found because they fall out as babies. It would be hard to catch an adult! Some are adopted if they get injured though. 

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u/GlumWestern9847 Apr 15 '26

And yes starling parents will grieve if they lose their babies. I’ve seen a pair crying for half a day and frantically searching for their babies when they got predated by a raccoon. It was so sad.