Incredible Yet Unappreciated - A Bit on Pigeons, The "Winged Rats" of Our Society (Charlotte Lin)

        I’ve always been curious about birds and other flighted animals: What would it be like to have that kind of ability? To feel the wind on your face and gaze down at the world below as you float above. I regret that I’ll likely never experience flight like that, freely at least. That it is something impossible without the help of modern technology. Still, learning and reading about what allows other creatures to fly is really interesting to me. Recently I’ve read a lot of articles online, and so while this blog isn’t about a certain writing or piece of literature, I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned (I will leave links to some articles at the end if anyone wants to check them out). 

        One of the most utilized flight animals for thousands of years has been the pigeon. What sets them apart from other birds is not just the fact that they can fly for thousands of miles, but their incredible homing abilities. You have probably heard of messenger pigeons or pigeon races before. Nowadays, these birds are commonly viewed as messy, feral animals, even earning the nickname “winged rat”. As you can see in the photo, this is what a modern day pigeon’s nest often looks like. We domesticated them and then essentially abandoned them. Now, they are stuck on the streets because they don’t have a choice. We assume they are unintelligent due to their bobbing heads and seemingly silly behavior. While it is true their brains are only about the size of a thimble, pigeons are actually much smarter than they have been stereotyped to be. With the ability to recognize names, differentiate humans from each other, and even learn the letters of the alphabet, the intelligence of pigeons has been compared to that of a toddler’s. Pigeons also possess excellent vision and have been trained to travel specific routes. These birds navigate by recognizing landmarks, using their sense of smell, and magnetoreception- the ability to sense earth’s magnetic field. There are many theories as to how they use this technique, but scientists have yet to figure out the exact reasons behind this amazing characteristic. With these amazing abilities, pigeons have been used for communication, sending letters, racing, and delivering messages during warfare. They truly are amazing animals that don’t get enough credit for all that they’ve done, and all that they are capable of doing.

        With all this knowledge and the incredible facts I’ve come to learn about pigeons, I keep wondering how and why we’ve come to view them the way we do in the modern day. Besides pigeons, there are countless other underestimated animals on our planet. Researching to better understand these creatures teaches me to appreciate them and grow more conscious of the world around me. Although this blog wasn’t discussing a certain book and the agenda was a bit unusual, I had a lot of fun writing about a topic that I personally find intriguing. Making this post felt a lot less like homework, and more focused on sharing my interests with my classmates. I know this kind of subject isn’t for everyone, so thank you for reading my pigeon blog. I fully expect to write another similarly styled post again. 
    -Charlotte

Articles:

University of Melbourne: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/34101-how-do-pigeons-find-their-way-home%3F-we-looked-in-their-ears-with-a-diamond-based-quantum-microscope-to-findout#:~:text=We%20know%20pigeons%20use%20visual,navigate%20using%20Earth's%20magnetic%20field.
National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/pigeons-diversity-doves-photographs
National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4854524/
American Pigeon Museum and Library: https://www.theamericanpigeonmuseum.org/post/are-pigeons-like-children-by-richard-gray