THE VALUE OF PIGEONS

Pigeons are fascinating to watch.  Their courting behavior is quite entertaining.  Their affectionate attention to their mate is sweet and romantic.

Pigeons bring life to cities.  Often, pigeons are the only form of life in otherwise bleak urban landscapes.

Pigeons provide stress relief.  Feeding pigeons is well recognized by the medical community as a good means of relaxation.

Pigeons provide good company.  Many senior citizens enjoy spending time with pigeons.  Children are often enamored with these friendly birds.

Pigeons are companion animals.  Anyone who has pigeons as pets will attest to their loyalty and  affection.  They make excellent friends.

Pigeons clean up our waste.  Pigeons eat food we dispose of as litter.

Pigeons eat weed seeds.  Pigeons primarily eat seeds, and some of their favorites are weed seeds.

Pigeons provide a good role model for society.  The traditional doves of love and peace, pigeons mate for life and set a good example for people by the way they care for their mate and their young, share feeding areas, and live peacefully with each other.

Pigeons provide ambiance.  What would Trafalgar Square, Venice, Vatican Square, or Paris be like without pigeons?

Pigeons provide nourishment.  Endangered Peregrine Falcons, for example, would not be staging a comeback without the pigeon as their prey base.

Pigeons are benign residents.  They do not compete with indigenous animals for food or shelter.  And, contrary to popular belief, cases of pigeon diseases spread to humans are extremely rare and, in most areas, like Arizona, are nonexistent.

Pigeons have religious significance.  Common city pigeons are actually European Rock Doves.  They are the biblical dove of love and peace.  They helped honor the birth of Christ.  They are the same birds as the pigeon that Noah released, which returned with the olive branch to signify the end of the Great Flood.  Nearly all religions revere pigeons as holy birds.

Pigeons are mans oldest domesticated bird.  New evidence shows that pigeons have been domesticated for more than twelve millennia.

Pigeons save lives.  To this day, pigeons deliver lifesaving medications and provide valuable messenger service in remote areas, as they have for thousands of years.

© D.L. Roth, 4/96


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