WHETHER YOU LOVE PIGEONS OR HATE THEM YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T IGNORE THEM.

The pigeon has been roaming the earth in one form or another for over 30 million years, and we humans are the late comers with a mere 130,000 years of walking around. We can blame their presence in America on the French as they imported them for meat about 1600. Our fanatical hatred of the pigeon is a relative new phenomenon here. But for thousands of years they have been loved elsewhere and even deified in some places.

The story of Noah is an example as the white dove (pigeon) brought him the olive branch and hope. Along the way we have even seen them as gods of fertility. They have been domesticated since the dawn of time and utilized by every major superpower. It was the pigeon that delivered the results of the first Olympics in 776 BC and news of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo as well. Both our world wars saw them in loyal service and they helped save the lives of thousands of soldiers. Pigeons are sort of athletes as they are raced like thoroughbred horses and can fly at the amazing speed of about 35 miles an hour and up to 500 miles in a day. Even Queen Elizabeth of England breeds racing pigeons and has a special trainer to take care of them.

Believe it or not an award winning journalist Andrew D. Blechman has chosen to write a wonderful and often entertaining book called “PIGEONS The saga of the world’s most revered and reviled bird”. After you read this fascinating account, you will never look at this bird in the same way again. Of course you may still look at the stained buildings, squares and statues in your city and damn them, as you always have. I’ve tasted cooked pigeon myself and it‘s quite delicious. But I still damn them.