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Pigeons

"Through a barrage of shells and bullets he rose, circled, and, like a dart, headed for home. There was a sudden burst of shrapnel and Cher Ami was hit. He straightened out and, with one leg utterly shattered, reached . . . Rampont in twenty-five minutes, covering a distance of forty kilometres, although the missile which carried away his leg had also passed through his breast. The message holder was attached to the wounded leg, hanging by a few shreds of sinew. Cher Ami that day saved the members of the 'Lost Battalion.'"(1)

It is not the pigeons' choice to be here. Our most prevalent urban birds, pigeons, or rock doves, were domesticated early in history and brought to this country by the first settlers. These birds are closely related to homing pigeons, who helped deliver messages during battles in World Wars I and II and the Korean War. Cher Ami is not the only pigeon whose amazing flights were documented during the World Wars.

Pigeon Facts

Pigeons pair for life, and both parents care for their young. Pigeons flock in large numbers in order to protect themselves against cats, hawks, owls, and rats. Even so, up to 35 percent of a pigeon population may perish annually from natural causes and predators. Pigeons naturally stabilize their own populations in accordance with food supply and other factors.

Many city residents and visitors find pigeons pleasant and interesting. Pigeons are amiable and give human city dwellers the welcome chance to interact with a species other than their own.

These birds are very intelligent. "Pigeons commit new images to memory at lightning speed. . . . They organize images of things into the same logical categories that human beings use when we conceptualize."(2)

The Coast Guard trained pigeons to peck a key when they spot the bright orange color used for life vests. The birds, suspended in a transparent box from a helicopter, are extremely adept at spotting the vests floating in the open ocean, thus saving lives.

Pigeons' navigational abilities, which are largely dependent on keen vision and a superlative memory for topographic details, are legendary. Although pigeons rarely carry messages anymore, they are still used for emergency flights in London to carry blood samples from hospitals to laboratories.

The Myth of Disease

The most widespread misconception about urban pigeons is that they are carriers of disease. Pest control companies charge them with transmitting histoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis, psittacosis, cryptococcosis, salmonellosis, meningitis, tuberculosis, and encephalitis.

The truth is that the vast majority of people are at little or no health risk from pigeons and probably have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than contracting a serious disease from pigeons.(3) In fact, a child attending school is many times more likely to get a disease from another child than from a pigeon.

Of these diseases, histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis are the only ones that could be linked to large bird populations, even though pigeons themselves are not infected with and are not carriers of the diseases. These fungi occur naturally in soil. When bird droppings mix with the soil over a period of years, they can enrich the soil in a way that favors development of airborne spores, and people who live near sites where pigeons roost may be exposed. The symptoms of infection generally resemble a mild cold. People recover without medical intervention and develop a natural resistance against further infection. Much of the population has already been affected, developed an immunity, and never been aware of it.(4) Histoplasma fungus and infection are prevalent on intensive chicken farms.

Salmonellosis and toxoplasmosis are more commonly contracted from undercooked, contaminated meat.(5)

There is no evidence linking the other diseases to pigeons and, in fact, most of them are so common in nature, so rare in humans, or so mild in their symptoms that pigeon control is pointless.

Humane Pigeon Control

When it comes to controlling populations of pigeons, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Pigeons and other birds settle in areas that suit their needs. Therefore, an effective program of pigeon control consists of making the designated area as uninviting as possible. For starters, don't feed the birds and eliminate food and litter from the area. Excluding birds from an area and conditioning them to avoid the area are both effective and humane ways of dealing with a pigeon overpopulation problem.

Very simple modifications in a building's structure can discourage birds from landing or nesting on the building. Steel, wood, or stone angled on building ledges prevents pigeons from nesting in the holes. Open areas, such as vents, lofts, or eaves, can be sealed up to prevent pigeons from nesting in the holes. Bird barriers, including a thin metal coil resembling a "slinky" toy, can be fastened to a building ledge to discourage birds from landing.

NEVER use sticky, transparent, bird "repellent" caulk. This substance is applied to ledges in the hope that birds will land, feel the stickiness of the caulk, and fly off, never to return. It is extremely dangerous because birds can easily get stuck to the ledges and lose wings and/or legs trying to free themselves or their wings may stick to their bodies, causing them to fall when they try to fly. They can also ingest the substance trying to clean themselves and die miserably of poisoning.

Conditioning birds to avoid an area should be done as early as possible, in order to effectively discourage the birds from settling in. Recorded pigeon distress calls are available to warn birds away from an area. Loud noises, such as radios or windchimes, are sometimes effective, as are visual deterrents such as revolving lights, mirrors, or effigies of predator birds. In Frederick, Md., citizens installed brightly colored balloons with huge "eyes" on them which scared the pigeons into moving away from the downtown area. When conditioning birds to avoid an area, it is important to vary the deterrents, so the pigeons do not get accustomed to the noises, mirrors, etc.

Poisoning pigeons is not a humane method of population control for obvious reasons. Moreover, poisoning is unlikely to have any lasting impact on the number of pigeons in a given area. The number of pigeons that occupy an area depends upon the availability of food, space, and shelter. If some pigeons are shot or poisoned, more pigeons will only take their place, bringing the flock back to its original size. Any successful method of bird control must concentrate on prevention and making the location inhospitable to birds.

References

1. Levi, Wendell M., The Pigeon, (Sumter, S.C., 1969).
2. Browne, Malcolm W., "How Do You Tell a Chair From a Cat?" The New York Times, December 6, 1988.
3. Donnally, Charlotte, Ph.D., Report for the Cincinnati Environmental Advisory Council, 1983.
4. Garza, Nora N., "Pigeons," Bartlesville (Okla.) Examiner-Enterprise, Feb. 18, 1990.
5. Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga.