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Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird

byAndrew Blechman

Andrew Blechman explores the long, contradictory relationship between humans and pigeons. Once prized as messengers, food, racers, performers, and symbols of peace, the birds became urban nuisances in modern public imagination. Breeders, competitors, scientists, pest controllers, and city residents reveal extraordinary navigation, intelligence, diversity, and adaptability. The book traces domestication and global spread while asking why affection turned to disgust. Blechman shows that pigeons thrive because they evolved alongside human settlement, making their disputed place in cities a reflection of changing ideas about nature, cleanliness, status, and coexistence.

Publisher

Grove Press

Publication date

October 10, 2007

Format

Print edition

Pages

256

ISBN

9780802143280