November 09, 2021

This Needs To Be Read with Mrs. TNTBS-A POCKET GUIDE TO PIGEON WATCHING

11 minutes

Our guest today is Author, ROSEMARY MOSCO is a science cartoonist, author, and expert naturalist who loves connecting people with the livingworld using humor and wonder. Find her at rosemarymosco.com and see her comics at birdandmoon.com.

A POCKET GUIDE TO PIGEON WATCHING:

Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird

10 REASONS TO WATCH PIGEONS:

It’s free.

Pigeons are often easy to find, especially in urban areas where other wildlife is scarce. You can watch them on long drives, during boring commutes, or on lunch breaks. If you’re in a dull meeting, take a peek outside and enjoy the soap opera of pigeon life.

Pigeons are gentle and safe to watch, so long as you look out for their poop. They won’t attack you, screech at you, or spray you with a noxious scent. (If they do, you have misidentified your pigeons.)

They do strange and wonderful things. They blink with three eyelids, kiss with vigor, feed milk to their babies, and applaud themselves after mating. Their lives are both alarmingly alien and charmingly familiar.

If you’re searching for dating tips, look no further than a species that mates for life (usually) and dances to impress.

Pigeons are food for many birds of prey. If you can find pigeons, you can find majestic hawks, falcons, owls, and all sorts of other shy aerial predators. The more you watch these birds, the more you’ll appreciate the full breadth of nature that’s quietly making a living all around you.

Thanks to some fascinating genetics, pigeons come in a variety of colors, patterns, and plumages. You’ll find birds with funny feathery socks, odd-colored eyes, and dazzling hues from red to blue to white. Try to spot them all!

As our domesticated companions for millennia, pigeons have a lot to teach us about human history and culture. If given the power to speak, any pigeon could teach a master class on colonialism, inequality, architecture, agriculture, and changing food preferences.

Rescued pigeons make great pets—and if you’re concerned about poop, you can dress your pigeon in a custom-made rhinestone-studded diaper. Seriously.

It’s a hard world. Sometimes you just need to look at a soft bird.

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