Evening star., 1948-09-18
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trace,DeH

Every morning at s;l5 o'clock at busy
downtown corner. a big window goes up on the
top floor of a building.
A man appears in the opening, and then
about q hundred pigeons fly down from roof
and off ledges and all try to get on the sill
at once. go
They mill around in the air, some showing
others off the window sill. to be replaced in
turn by the Tapping wings and solid bodies
of others.
The man is feeding them food they look for
each day. A great many people seem to have
q real fondness for these husky birds.
They are city institutions, most Of them
recruited from old lofts given up by growing
youngsters, who became tired of them.
Determined, intelligent creatures, the pigeons
do rot starve: they go right out to hunt food
and they find it, Few of them ever die Of
hunger.
Some people regard them as nuisances. but
they help make city parks interesting, as they
fly down to get handouts" from the luncheon
eaters.
There are scores Of people, evidently, who
have been more or less deserted by humanity
who nevertheless manage to find something to
love IN pigeons.
About the only place pigeon is not wanted
is at bird feeding station.
This is odd, since it Is bird as well as any,
The truth is that one or two of them would
not worry any one, or cause any trouble at a
feeding station, but the fact is that where there
is one pigeon there are always 20 pigeons.
Pigeons are that way.
They are gregarious creatures, not so much
out of love for one another, as because they use
their heads.
They use their eyes, too, and when they see
another pigeon circling down, they know he
hits the earth because he has seen something
to eat.
All pigeons keep wary eyes on all other
pigeons and the moment they see one aight-
ing, they Immediately suspect that he must
be ''up to something"
They know that he seeks food, just as they
do, and that where one pigeon can eat, we'll,
another one can.
A wise bird then, is the common pigeon,
whether householder would prefer to have
him keep off his roof and ledges not. The
pigeon is more than wise one, however. He
is one of the most magnificent flyers in the
world
In an air age, we all should have more re-
spect for pigeons They fly easily, strongly,
long and far. Their sense of direction is
magnificent, as every one knows who has read
about the homing pigeon
We may suspect that our common city
pigeons often have bit of homer in them.
To watch these thick birds fly is an edu-
cation in the art, as we'll as a revelation of
beauty.
They not only can flap their wings with
the best of them, and work up speed, but are
able to soar almost as well as a buzzard.
1t is nothing at all for a common pigeon to
soar for a block never once moving its wings,
or at the most only fitting one or both slightly,
to take advantage of air currents.
The take-off Is little difficult, since the bird
is heavy and thick, not shaped for q quick
lift
Once in the air, it flies as straight as an
arrow, usually with several others While
there is no well defined flock, there seems
to be some sort of group association among
them.
Probably birds that once lived in the same
loft, or their descendants. They all keep
together, more or less, through life. These
modern street urchins now have taken the
place of English sparrows, which mostly live
in the suburbs today.
Pigeons are marvellous in traffic. One sell
dom is struck. Their ability to rise just q few
feet in the air, or slowly walk to one side, to
be missed by an oncoming car, is very real.
Bus drivers at first fearful of striking them,
but soon learn to disregard them. The fat
birds will take care Of themselves.