Are you still feeding the Flying Rats?
The many reasons why not to nurture pigeons which are pests and unnatural to cities
I am from the pest control industry. In our business, we call "Pigeons," the Flying Rats, as pigeons do whatever rats do, but by remaining in the air and on the wing. Rats have no fans (not too many, at least) being despised pests with their habit of gnawing and damaging objects in their vicinity, consuming food meant for people and leaving feces and urine that can spread diseases among humans. So, it is surprising that when pigeons do all those rats do too, the world over, people like to feed pigeons and nurture them. Sadly, pigeons are pests needing control, and the last thing they need is food and care from people.
Over millennia, people have helped many animals and bird species evolve along with human communities. Common examples of such creatures include cats, dogs, cows, horses, camels, donkeys, and other domestic animals and birds. Pigeons, too, got helped by human civilization and at one time were necessary for communication – remember the passenger pigeons which till about a century ago were involved in conveying messages over distances. Keeping pigeons is also a hobby that some people practice.
This post, however, is about the pest birds that urban pigeons are. In any city, whether in India or abroad, pigeons are un-natural. Yes, you read it right. Their close cousins' rock doves (they are grayish and can sometimes be seen in cities but more in wild areas) are a native species that has its role in any habitat that it occurs. Pigeons, however, are out of place as they serve no ecological function as they been bred and perpetuated by humans and can't survive by themselves in nature. They do not control other pests, like birds in nature, which feed on insects on crops and plants. Nor are they food for some other species, more so, as they are too numerous to be controlled by any birds of prey. They also do not serve as scavengers like mynahs or crows as they have gotten used to the grains and other food that is fed to them by over-enthusiastic, misguided citizens.
In Indian cities, people feed pigeons for sentimental, religious, and other reasons. It is actually a business with the grain sellers keeping piles that the pigeon lovers buy and strew on the ground for pigeons to come and eat. I never understood what joy people get by feeding birds that are far from attractive and are a nuisance even as they are fed. Pigeons flutter and swoop down on grains even as someone is scattering them. They peck grains out of the hands of people feeding them and dirty that person through contact.
Like at Mumbai, in Thane too pigeon lovers have been maintaining large flocks by feeding them. If you drive on Ghodbunder Road towards Ghodbunder, you will encounter a junction after Kasarvadavli, where the electric lines have rows of pigeons on them. They are a menace and hazard as they are in the habit of flying low above the road blocking a driver's vision and can actually cause serious road accidents. Elsewhere in Thane pigeons can be found resting on avenue trees and defecate steadily dropping their feces on vehicles and people. The worst aspect of pigeons at Thane is that they invade homes and make nests in apartment communities and turn out to be a painful nuisance.
Pigeons are irritating around homes. They come and nest anywhere they find it convenient to make their crude nest fashioned out of twigs, wire, plastic, and more. The ugly looking nest soon sports eggs out of which the young ones called squalls hatch. The squalls are dark and hairy and are not at all appealing to look at. The cooing of the young nestlings and their parents is a big distraction in the apartment outside, which a pigeon family has made home. Not to talk of all the efforts required to clean up the mess pigeons create through the food they bring, the feathers they shed, and the copious droppings they produce. It would help if you also remembered that several insects and mites (spider-like creatures) are also inhabitants of pigeon nests and soon find their way into a home. And when pigeons are located near the external air conditioning (AC) units, the residents of the apartments which are cooled by such AC units have been found to take ill!
As the preceding account has shown clearly, pigeons are pests and have no place in cities or elsewhere. Foolish lovers of pigeons are themselves a nuisance to society, as pigeons make no distinction of who fed them and head to the dwellings of anyone whose home is accessible. Sadly, by the action of a few people, society has to suffer as pigeons are very damaging. They can cause electrical outages by roosting and nesting in electrical sub-stations. They increase the cleaning and housekeeping costs as they dirty places, necessitating increased efforts to maintain areas. They crowd out native birds like sparrows through their sheer numbers and can even lead to the local extinction of desirable birds. They are enemies of home gardens as they are in the habit of plucking out live plants to make their nests. Pigeon excreta is acidic and thus causes corrosion of the surface on which it falls. World-famous and ancient monuments all over the world have got damaged due to pigeon poop.
If you are still not convinced about the pestilence of pigeons, do remember, pigeons have been implicated in many life-threatening and fatal diseases in people. Constant exposure to the droppings of pigeons, their hair, and their nests leads many individuals to develop respiratory illnesses, which results in death, in extreme cases.
Pigeons are no fun and definitely not creatures to be loved. As you will be more than convinced with this account, please STOP feeding pigeons if you are doing so. And if you know, others who feed pigeons request them not to be a public nuisance by feeding pigeons. All the ills about pigeons can be controlled through a single, simple step – by denying them FOOD. Each pigeon can lay 15 eggs in a year, and a flock typically has 150 members. Just do the math on what a pigeon lover is doing by contributing to a flock's growth each year. We all have enough problems in life without having to invite more. Pigeons are one such. Stop feeding them, and you will stop their breeding. Over time the flock will disintegrate, leaving you in peace and peaceful owner of your home, free of dirt, noise, and nuisance from pigeons.