Street Pigeon Research Papers

The common pigeon brings about thoughts of public parks, an obsession for bread crumbs, white gunk on your windshield and not much else. Fortunately, these characteristics are mostly associated with the Feral Pigeon, or better known as the, Street Pigeon. Remarkably, this pigeon is only one out of its 310 other species, which are spread all across the globe. Although it seems very unnatural, New York City is home to over one-million pigeons, more than any other place in the world! One might assume that a creature as simple as the pigeon can only amount to simple tasks. However, the contribution of these gentle birds to our society goes far beyond gnawing bread in parks, or leaving a nice surprise on your favourite car. Columbidae, is the scientific name for the clade of birds that the dove and pigeon belong to. The earliest account of pigeons dates all the way back to 3000 BC through images unearthed by archaeologists in Mesopotamia. It was here that the symbolic white dove was first bred by the Sumerians, through the wild pigeons we see in our cities today. As a result of its pure, virtuous look and its references in the Bible, this white dove became widely worshipped, and gained a …show more content…
This unique ability of theirs resurfaced again in 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War. The French used hot air balloons to transport carrier pigeons past enemy lines and into Paris. They carried vital information that benefited the soldiers in Paris greatly for the next four months of the siege. Due to their success in this war, they were found extremely valuable, and were used again in World War I. Thousands of pigeons were trained to not only carry messages, but also serve as aerial reconnaissance. These brave birds flew miles across the battlefield to deliver messages and intel that would save hundreds of