The bible says that God's eye is on the sparrow. Wonder if these people that poison his birds know that is eye is on them also?

Those that don't fear the wrath of god will have one rude awakening...

Pigeons. The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird. By Andrew D. Blechman. 239 pages. $24. Grove Press.


Pity the pigeon. In cities around the world, it ekes out a precarious existence, subsisting on pizza crust, stale doughnuts and bread crumbs. Like any other immigrant group (pigeons were introduced to North America by the French), pigeons wish only to live in peace and raise their families. Instead they are persecuted by hostile landlords and crusading city officials, who pursue them with nets, poisons and guns. They are denounced as rats with wings, cursed by every car owner who has ever scraped droppings off a freshly waxed fender, kidnapped by poachers and blasted from the sky by sportsmen tired of shooting at clay pigeons.

Admittedly, the bird is a hard sell, but in "Pigeons," an amiable, mildly engaging tour of the species and its fans, Andrew D. Blechman does his level best to inspire respect, perhaps even affection, for "a scruffy-looking bird with a brain the size of a lima bean."

It's much more than that. Blechman starts out on a high note, invoking the hero pigeons of yore that, in the days before the telegraph, carried messages at top speed. Who delivered the results of the first Olympics in 776 B.C.? A pigeon. In wartime it was the pigeon, with its uncannily accurate homing instincts, that could be relied on to brave enemy fire and deliver secret dispatches.

The greatest of them all, Cher Ami, suffered multiple gunshot wounds but pressed on and delivered the message that saved the surviving members of the Lost Battalion during World War I, a feat that won him the Croix de Guerre. On a more domestic note, Blechman points out that pigeons mate for life, adding that "the sexual act itself is relatively gentle and completely consensual."

What's not to like? Well, perhaps the fact that the average pigeon produces more than 25 pounds, or 11 kilograms, of droppings a year. The feral members of the tribe, whose higher-class relatives race for prize money or preen at fancy bird shows, have the unfortunate habit of gathering in large flocks and staying put, which brings the waste issue front and center.

They also, Blechman concedes, "look less than manicured." Pest-control companies have done an excellent job of convincing the public that pigeons carry a host of unspeakable diseases, a canard, if that's the right word here, that several experts cited by Blechman refute convincingly.

Add to this troubled public image a very strange fan base. In the course of his wanderings Blechman encounters some extremely marginal characters. Some are dully obsessional, like train spotters. Some defy categorization. Muard Melvin MacRae Naugle Jr., a revered judge at the contests run by the National Pigeon Association, lives in a cabin with no heat, no running water and a chamber pot for a toilet. Better known as Dr. Pigeon, he once lived on 50 cents a week, eating nothing but dried spaghetti that he soaked for days in cold water until it became soft enough to chew.

There seem to be a lot of people like him in the pigeon world.

Blechman, who comes across as rather finicky, a bit of a Felix Unger, walks straight into a horror film when he looks up Dave Roth, the founder, president and sole member of the Urban Wildlife Society, in the Phoenix house he shares with countless pigeon friends.

One is Hollywood, the lone survivor of a spectacular building demolition in the Charlie Sheen film "No Code of Conduct." Rescued birds, their droppings encrusting the interior of the house, share space with mountains of papers and piled-up junk, to which Roth remains oblivious as he fulminates against all those who torment pigeons - not just poisoners and hunters, but those who order squab in restaurants. "That's like Jeffrey Dahmer eating your kid," he tells Blechman.

As Blechman delves into the fine points of pigeon racing, the image of the rat with wings fades away. The homing instinct of the pigeon, an unsolved mystery perhaps related to the magnetic field of the earth, inspires something like awe, as does the gutsy performance of the top racers, which can cover distances of 500 to 800 miles, or 800 to 1,280 kilometers, nonstop, at speeds of more than 60 miles per hour. One of Martinez's birds, after breaking a wing on a 300-mile race, persevered and walked back to Brooklyn.

If that doesn't sway you, Blechman includes a recipe for pigeon pot pie.

Review: Pigeons - Culture - International Herald Tribune

BrokenWings Opinion.
There is nothing Prestigious about the Racing Pigeon World, it’s a world of exploiting the bird of peace for profit and gain, where the Bird of Peace and his/her unique ability to return unto his/her birth place is used to make money and or make bets behind the scenes.
A world of Mass breeding in hopes a winner is born, those birds that do not live up to the standards are killed by there owners and or set free to become the general publics problem and eventually mass poisoned to control there numbers.
It’s a win win win situations for the Pigeon Racer and the exterminating companies, and whom pays the ultimate price, The Bird of Peace, better known as the Pigeon, they continue to pay with there lives.
Arty Tovar

Another Racing Pigeon Lost and contributing to the feral population

Thursday, November 08, 2007
Re-homing the Homing Pigeon
This beautiful racing pigeon arrived here on August 28th and has been here ever since. We called it 'Grace the Race', despite also referring to it as 'him'. He'd go for a day or two but kept coming back; more lately he had taken to sitting on the back doorstep 24-7 always waiting for the bird table and seed feeders to be topped up. Once or twice he ventured into the bird bath round the other side of the house but was much happier with a water-filled frisbie on the back doorstep. It seemed increasingly obvious that he wasn't able to find his way home, and that he was becoming even more vulnerable to predators since taking to camping out on the back doorstep rather than sitting on the roof of the house opposite. The poor little thing was in pigeon limbo with no shelter, no flock, and no pecking order of which to be a part, though he had enjoyed the week of September 10th, when another racing pigeon arrived in the garden and when they'd hung out together. He doesn't seem to be recognised as a pigeon or dove by the resident woodpigeons or collared doves, and the indifference is mutual so he's been a lonely little bird.

His owner, eventually traced through the Royal Pigeon Racing Association via the numbers on his leg ring, turned out to live in Wrexham. The pigeon is young and was one of his best, he said; it had been released in Chepstow and should have returned to Wrexham the same day. Hadn't got very far, having only reached Monmouth. He regretted that he didn't want the bird back because it would cost too much in carriage, and because he had no room for a bird which he thought must have lost its homing instinct by now - if we returned it, he would only have to kill it... he also didn't want us to take it to the vet as he wasn't willing to pay vet fees for a bird he didn't want... but if we could find a pigeon fancier who would give it space, then he'd gladly transfer ownership.

The vet supplied the name of a couple who take in lost and injured birds of all varieties, and who also keep racing pigeons. Best of all, they live less than a mile down the road and said they would be very happy to take Grace. This morning I caught him, for the first and only time - and was quite surprised to be able to feel the little beating heart against the palm of my hand, so tiny it must be. I put him into a box, but there wasn't really any need as he did not struggle or try to fly away and is still very tame despite being absent from the loft for quite so long. We took him to his new home, which was a delight - one would never suspect from the front of the house what a riot of bird and animal life existed at the back! There were six dogs, though I think only four belonged to the household, and a garden filled with aviaries full of exotic birds, and at least two lofts full of racing pigeons. In the conservatory was a green parrot and two large dogs, one on a table being groomed, the other waiting... Jim never kills a racing pigeon, even if it's a dud. He liked Grace and said he seemed fine and should do well with a bit of time and pigeon company, and he'd take up the transfer of ownership. Grace would be quarantined for a while and then moved in with some of the other birds...and they would all live happily ever after.
A Blogspate

Another Racing Pigeon Owner turns his back unto his bird.


BrokenWing/Arty Tovar

Hollywood Pigeons Go on "The Pill"
Laura Dodson, Argyle Civic Association
Research shows that pigeon flocks cannot be eliminated through methods such as trapping, poisoning or other conventional means. The flock will grow back to the same size or larger as their numbers are removed. The birds mate for life in the same home and live for up to 15 years.
After months of research, investigation and meetings with City of Los Angeles officials, the Argyle Civic Association contacted PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for assistance with the pigeon problem. PETA, the world's largest and most important animal rights group, strongly advises against the feeding of pigeons and other wild animals.
PETA provided the resources on using advanced new methods of reducing the size of the flock. One method in particular looked promising: OvoControl™
OvoControl™ is a birth control method for birds and was registered with the United States EPA in May of 2007. The technology has been developed by Innolytics LLC, a hatch-control company based in Rancho Santa Fe, California. OvoContol™ is administered to the birds via a special "treat" which is distributed to the pigeons from rooftop dispensers. The active ingredient, nicarbazin, interferes with the development of the vitaline layer separating the egg white and yolk. This membrane is vital to the viability of the egg and without it the egg cannot develop or hatch. Originally developed to control populations of resident Canada geese, the method has also been successfully tested on feral pigeons under the guidance of the USDA Experiment Station in Gainesville, FL.
September 2007 Animal Radio Newsletter

Accused pigeon smugglers stopped at US-Canadian border
Birds hidden in coat pockets

By Associated Press | Tuesday, January 1, 2008 | Home - BostonHerald.com | Offbeat
LEWISTON, N.Y. - Border agents pulled four live birds from the pockets of a pigeon collector and a traveling companion trying to enter the United States from Canada.

The pair were stopped Sunday at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge border crossing, where they told inspectors they were on their way to visit an uncle in LeRoy, outside Rochester, Customs and Border Protection spokesman Kevin Corsaro said.

Inspectors found the pigeons wrapped and taped from neck to tail in pockets of the pair’s coats after they asked the men from Uxbridge, Ontario, to remove their jackets.

One man told CBP officers he is a pigeon collector who belongs to a club that trades and sells birds of various colors. He said he was taking the birds to trade or sell to his uncle.

The men, whose names were not released, were fined $1,000 and the case was referred to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Department of Agriculture inspectors for possible criminal charges, Corsaro said.

People bringing pet birds into the country are required to arrange for a veterinary inspection at the border three to five days before entering to protect against the transmission of communicable diseases such as bird flu.

USDA inspectors took custody of the birds.

Article URL: Accused pigeon smugglers stopped at US-Canadian border - BostonHerald.com

The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge border crossing is about an hour away from me. Does anyone know what happened to the birds?

USDA inspectors took custody of the birds.
This is a fairly new article, Trying to find out what happens to the birds might not happen so quickly.

Earth's magnetic field pulls pigeons back to baseAlok Jha The Guardian, Wednesday February 14 2007
Contact usClose Contact the Science editor
science@guardian.co.uk Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@guardian.co.uk Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@guardian.co.uk If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard:
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Advertising guide License/buy our content About this articleClose This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday February 14 2007 on p12 of the UK news section. It was last updated at 00:05 on February 14 2007. Scientists have finally solved one of nature's most enduring mysteries: how pigeons, dropped off hundreds of miles from home, are able to navigate back to their lofts.

According to a study, the birds use the strength of the Earth's magnetic field to sense how the field around them is changing and work out where they are relative to home. "We are now confident that pigeons do use the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field to determine position during homing," said Todd Dennis of the University of Auckland, who led the research.

In his experiment, Dr Dennis released homing pigeons in an area of New Zealand where the Earth's magnetic field is naturally distorted, called the Auckland Junction Magnetic Anomaly. His idea was that, if the intensity of the magnetic field influenced the birds' ability to position themselves, they would be confused by the anomaly when released.

Once out, he found that the birds flew up to four kilometres in the wrong direction, parallel or at right angles to variations in strength of the local magnetic field, before redirecting themselves towards their loft. His results are published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

Subject: NY Daily News called abused/murdered birds WINGED RATS
Message:
Saturday's New York Daily news had an article on page 6, called VID
SHOWS PARK COP KILLING BIRDS WITH CART. A Park Enforcement Patrol Officer,
Martin Hightower was busted when park goers videotaped him
deliberately running pigeons and gulls over with his city golf cart in Battery
Park. He squashed and murdered three pigeons and two gulls. Max sentence
is one year in jail for each bird. He was arrested by Humane Law
Enforcement. The article said, "The law is often difficult to prosecute as
witnesses often don't stick around to defend creatures like the city's
winged rats." If bird lovers would like to write email complaints, they
should write to the reporter, Ethan Rouen at erouen@nydailynews.com, and
send a copy to Voicers@edit.nydailynews.com, and
Voicers@nydailynews.com. I think it's ridiculous to call the pigeons
abused victims one minute, and flying vermin the next. You can go to
New York City's Hometown Newspaper - NY Daily News to see the article from Saturday February 16, 2008