{"id":4320,"date":"2025-01-24T09:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T09:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/?p=4320"},"modified":"2025-01-24T09:07:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T09:07:03","slug":"the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Number of words: 483<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people feed pigeons bread crumbs or keep them as pets in rooftop coops. Others see the animals as pests, carriers of disease or simply \u201crats with wings.\u201d But whatever you think about these birds, there\u2019s one fact no one will argue: Pigeons are everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever wondered how one kind of bird managed to take over urban areas as far apart as Washington; London, England; Mumbai, India; and Melbourne, Australia? Or why it is that pigeons are so plentiful in cities and not eagles, turkeys, hummingbirds or vultures?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, the first thing you need to know about pigeons is that they\u2019re actually doves. Or doves are actually pigeons. Scientifically, there\u2019s no difference between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some languages, there isn\u2019t even a separate word for \u2018pigeon,\u2019\u2009\u201d said Colin Jerolmack, a scientist at New York University who studies human societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are still pigeons living in the wild today. They evolved on the shores of North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea, where they make their homes on rocky ledges and cliffs. And it was this natural love for hard surfaces that made them a perfect fit in urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey actually really like concrete, marble and stone, so they prefer to live and build nests not in the trees and shrubs and grass, but alongside buildings,\u201d said Jerolmack, who wrote a book called \u201cThe Global Pigeon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps the biggest reason you\u2019ll find pigeons in cities around the world is because humans brought them there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least as long as 5,000 years ago, the people of an ancient Middle Eastern civilization known as Mesopotamia started putting out houses for these birds. As the birds became more tame, people began breeding them for food in areas where other wild animals had become scarce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, people learned that they could also use pigeons to carry written messages over long distances, thanks to the birds\u2019 homing instinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can take a street pigeon in D.C. and drive it down to North Carolina and release it, and, more often than not, it\u2019ll find its way home,\u201d Jerolmack said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, pigeons can be quite useful. It\u2019s been only in the past 80 to 100 years that people started disliking the birds, Jerolmack said. And much of the dislike comes from misunderstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, there\u2019s really no solid evidence that pigeons pass diseases on to people. And once you get to know them, you might change the way you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that pigeons mate for life, for instance? Or that once their chicks hatch, both parents take turns feeding their young a liquid produced in their digestive tract called \u201ccrop milk?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, humans have only themselves to blame for the pigeons cooing on every corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe bred them and domesticated them, and kept them in cities as we developed cities,\u201d Jerolmack said. \u201cSo they\u2019ve always been here, from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excerpted from<\/em> https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/kidspost\/ever-wondered-why-cities-have-so-many-pigeons\/2019\/06\/07\/ffad4918-83b9-11e9-95a9-e2c830afe24f_story.html<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Number of words: 483 Some people feed pigeons bread crumbs or keep them as pets in rooftop coops. Others see the animals as pests, carriers of disease or simply \u201crats with wings.\u201d But whatever you think about these birds, there\u2019s one fact no one will argue: Pigeons are everywhere. Have you ever wondered how one … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes - BullsEye<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes - BullsEye\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Number of words: 483 Some people feed pigeons bread crumbs or keep them as pets in rooftop coops. Others see the animals as pests, carriers of disease or simply \u201crats with wings.\u201d But whatever you think about these birds, there\u2019s one fact no one will argue: Pigeons are everywhere. Have you ever wondered how one ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BullsEye\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-24T09:07:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-24T09:07:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bhavya Chowdhury\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bhavya Chowdhury\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/\",\"name\":\"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes - BullsEye\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-24T09:07:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-24T09:07:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/992754c8575e3584d4c0dbcab059dd23\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"BullsEye\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/992754c8575e3584d4c0dbcab059dd23\",\"name\":\"Bhavya Chowdhury\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96cc080647ada77871a0fe51c103b135?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96cc080647ada77871a0fe51c103b135?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bhavya Chowdhury\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/author\/bhavya-chowdhury\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes - BullsEye","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes - BullsEye","og_description":"Number of words: 483 Some people feed pigeons bread crumbs or keep them as pets in rooftop coops. Others see the animals as pests, carriers of disease or simply \u201crats with wings.\u201d But whatever you think about these birds, there\u2019s one fact no one will argue: Pigeons are everywhere. Have you ever wondered how one ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/","og_site_name":"BullsEye","article_published_time":"2025-01-24T09:07:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-24T09:07:03+00:00","author":"Bhavya Chowdhury","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bhavya Chowdhury","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/","url":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/","name":"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes - BullsEye","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-24T09:07:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-24T09:07:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/992754c8575e3584d4c0dbcab059dd23"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/book-reviews-summary\/the-ubiquitous-presence-of-pigeons-in-urban-landscapes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Ubiquitous Presence of Pigeons in Urban Landscapes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/","name":"BullsEye","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/992754c8575e3584d4c0dbcab059dd23","name":"Bhavya Chowdhury","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96cc080647ada77871a0fe51c103b135?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96cc080647ada77871a0fe51c103b135?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bhavya Chowdhury"},"url":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/author\/bhavya-chowdhury\/"}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bhavya Chowdhury","author_link":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/author\/bhavya-chowdhury\/"},"uagb_comment_info":2,"uagb_excerpt":"Number of words: 483 Some people feed pigeons bread crumbs or keep them as pets in rooftop coops. Others see the animals as pests, carriers of disease or simply \u201crats with wings.\u201d But whatever you think about these birds, there\u2019s one fact no one will argue: Pigeons are everywhere. Have you ever wondered how one…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4321,"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320\/revisions\/4321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bullseye.ac\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}