The poop on pigeons

As we (hubby, baby, friend and I) wandered through a country fair this weekend, we spotted a barn full of small cages, which we assumed contained the "bunny" exhibit. Excited at the prospect of the little guy seeing bunnies for the first time, we made our way over. Only, they weren't bunnies. They were pigeons. Lots and lots of pigeons. My first reaction was "Ick!" I've never been a big fan. In fact, I kicked a pigeon in the arse at Disney World when I was a kid (long story...). So I was surprised to note the sign at the barn's entrance proclaiming that the exhibit was made possible by "pigeon lovers and appreciators".

I always thought that the only people who liked pigeons were crazies. The ones that feed them in the park, making life miserable for pedestrians trying to move past the "heard", madly ducking this way and that trying to dodge feathers and flying poop. By comparison, the people manning this barn full of birds seemed sane enough.

Since the birds were nicely contained in cages, we thought we might as well see what the hype was all about. It didn't exactly rock my world, but some of the pigeons were actually pretty cool. There were ones with fuzzy feet and peacock-like tails, and pretty "dove-like" ones (because doves, I learned, are actually members of the pigeon family).

At the head of the barn, there they were...(I'll pause now to build suspense). The prize winners. The cream of the crop. There were four of them. The Old Cock, Old Hen, Young Hen and Old Cock Junior winners (snicker, snicker. Those were the actual categories!) A couple of them looked just like common street pigeons to me.

Viewing the winners made me wonder a number of things. What characteristics go into a "prize" pigeon? How do you find nice looking pigeons -- are they nabbed off the street? How does one become qualified to judge the pigeon competition? Can a person make good money showing pigeons? How does one take up pigeon collecting? I overheard someone saying that they had 50 pigeons at home. Wow, that's commitment!

I should probably stop with the pigeon bashing right about now. You never know when a pigeon might come in handy one day. What if I got trapped in a well, and the only way I could escape was to tie a message to a homing pigeon's leg so that rescuers could find me? Or, what if I became a magician, and I needed to make doves appear from a hat to wow the audience? Or, what if I was to drop a big piece of sandwich on the ground and couldn't pick it up because I had a bad back, and a pigeon came over and ate the sandwich so that didn't get in trouble for littering? Or, what if I got laid off and the only work I could get was judging the "Old Cock" competition at the county fair? You never know!

After the fair, I did a little pigeon research and feel much more enlightened. I can now appreciate that they aren't just flying rats that drive me nuts at five in the morning with their incessant cooing. Here is a good website I came across in defense of the poor, misunderstood pigeon.…

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must dash. Bert is just about to perform his pigeon dance on Sesame Street :)