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He is the fearless, aerial acrobat of the skies, with a homing instinct that has been well capitalised upon by his human masters. He is the pigeon, bird of the Lord. Over a million pigeons are bred in the United States for racing purposes, and many more purely for companionship. What is the fascination with this feathered bundle of energy? Lets find out by getting to know the pigeon.
There are hundreds of breeds of pigeon which can be broken down into three basic categories β racing homers, performing pigeons and fancy pigeons. Lets consider them one at a time:
(1) Racing homers β this bird is bred to capitalise on its instinct to race home. When released in unfamiliar territory he will speed towards his home at the rate of about a mile per minute. He can do this at distances that range up to 500 miles. How does the pigeon know how to get home? That is a mystery that man has yet to decipher. Pigeon racing was first developed I Belgium in the 1800s. To this day it is a national sport there, gambled upon heavily.
(2) Performing Pigeons β these can further be divided into four groups β flying tumblers which perform an amazing precision figure eight show in the sky, high flyers which have an incredible endurance rate for flying, parlour tumblers who give an acrobatic performance right on your living room floor and the swing pouter, a brightly colored pigeon who seems to delight in displaying his beautiful plumage to each and every admirer.
(3) Fancy Pigeons β these come in all colors and hues. Enjoyment comes in admiring their versatile beauty.
Pigeons typically have a trusting nature, which makes them a pleasure to train. In raising pigeons, however, it is imperative that the loft housing the birds be kept clean and dry. Pigeons have been known to carry diseases that have proven fatal to humans. Any birds that become sick should be isolated to prevent their spreading disease to the rest of the flock.
It would seem that manβs fascination with and keenness to profit from the pigeon would β at least β keep the bird off the endangered list. Well, not entirely. In 1813 famed naturalist John Audubon saw a flock of passenger pigeons that was so large that it darkened the skies for three days. In 1885, there were an estimated 6 billion such birds in the United States. Yet, that bird is now extinct. How could this happen.? Man, the wasteful killer, destroyed an average of 566,000 of these birds every day for 29 years β and then the passenger pigeon was no more.
The pigeon is a wonderful bird β one that can give us endless pleasure and fascination. That fascination, however, must be tempered. After all, our record is none too good when it comes to being the custodians of the creatures of the earth.
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