Superdove by Courtney Humphries

So it is a practical question; why would I read a book about pigeons?

The answers: it was just kinda neat.

Inspired by a brief but positive review in Seed magazine, I picked up Superdove: How the Pigeon Took Manhattan ... And the World and quickly became fascinated by the subject matter. Covering everything from the human-assisted evolution, breeding, carriers, war-time experiments, shows, races, cuisine, population control, conservation, origins, and even pigeon mothers who devote parts of their lives to feeding the creatures, Superdove is a remarkable evaluation of the species and the role it casually plays in our world.

But yeah, I know, it's a book about pigeons.

To date in my life, the most exciting role a pigeon has ever played for me was at the expense of a falcon nest that rested atop the USF&G building when I worked at Bell Atlantic in Baltimore (to date myself, both Bell and the building have moved on to new names many years ago). The falcon parents would often catch pigeons as food for their young, and it wasn't uncommon to find pigeon heads littering the street on my walk to work.

But something I've learned from taking photographs of animals over the past few years: the more you watch an animal, the more you can come to appreciate them no matter what they are. And while the facts of this book are interesting and sometimes downright compelling, the evidence of the extensive research Humphries put into writing this work is more than evident in not only the amount of detail provided, but for the obvious and expressed love of creatures that people typically at best ignore. Additionally, it is a very well written and accessible work, which is important for people like me who often find themselves reading when their brain is screaming to be given a nap.

Not long after closing the book, I looked to our kitchen to find our Sashacat looking intently out the window. I walked over to her and noticed the object of her attention: a dove (almost a pigeon), looking nervously towards us. "Oooh," I told Sasha, "Isn't she pretty?"

The dove gave me a cocked-head, worrisome look, while Sasha merted and bounced away, seemingly unimpressed.

But she was pretty. I think that is what reading a book about pigeons will do for you.

So yes, I read a book about pigeons, and I'm content to admit I'm happy I did.