„Tauben sind keine Ratten mit Flügeln“: Die Mission einer Armley-Frau, „Schädlinge“ in ganz Leeds zu retten

I read somewhere, but don’t quote me, that pigeons are among the animals domesticated earliest by humans, probably even before cats, originating from an ancestor of the dove. The ones we see in our cities today are in fact their descendants, and that is also why they prefer urban environments and human proximity over woods and forests, where they feel less at ease.

When the lockdowns started I was living near Manchester. As a result of the lack of people all the city pigeons went outwards looking for food and found our bird feeder. That taught me a few things about them. Firstly when a hungry pigeon finds food it will do a little dance to celebrate. Secondly after a few months of good quality food rather than old takeaways they go from these manky gray birds to almost iridescent plumage.

This is lovely to see! I have a pet pigeon, and she is the sweetest little thing. Her favourite things are baths, freshly baked bread, and standing on my keyboard the moment I start typing something important. I wish the best for all those birds in need.