Feathered visitors & their long history

They keep waiting for me every morning. They belong to different families and come to my terrace from all directions. They appear very strict in maintaining social distancing. They, perhaps, are conscious that in these extraordinary times, one should not be too close to each other while partaking of whatever is offered to satiate one’s hunger.

Pigeons are invariably the first to arrive as they have their nests nearby. But they are not alone. As I reach my terrace soon after sunrise, so many birds come chirping merrily together to partake of what is offered by me. Besides pigeons, I see mynas, crows, sparrows and some other kinds of birds in their sparkling feathers descending there. They sometimes try to chase one another but none of them runs away. They remain around and wait for their turn. The birds with full bellies keep aside, chirping and playing among themselves, providing an opportunity to others to have their fill.

One reason why I have so many feathered visitors is the location in our area of some institutions with big open spaces, where there are a number of trees for these birds to enjoy life as they wish to.

Crows, the most aggressive of them all, and pigeons, who deal with them throughout the day, remind me of some interesting stories. Some time ago, I read a news report originating from France that crows were trained there to pick up pieces of trash like cigarette butts left in a theme park by visitors. Being intelligent learners, they would dutifully pick up trash and deposit all that came their way in the dustbins kept there.

Crows are considered remarkably intelligent creatures. They can be deployed to accomplish tasks relating to cleanliness, but nobody bothers about them in India.

Stories relating to pigeons are, however, entirely different. There was a time when pigeons were used as messengers and they performed such tasks as was not possible for humans. Ancient Persians were probably the first people who trained these birds for sending across different kinds of messages. Ancient Romans also used these birds as messengers in the service of their military.

The most interesting story is that at one time, Reuters, an international news agency, used pigeons to fly between Aachen (Germany) and Brussels to keep their clients informed of share market prices.

But times have changed. They are no longer in demand for the tasks they performed in the past. Yet, they are around. It is said that they pose a serious threat to our health. However, that is not my problem.

These pigeons make my day when they are there, together with other birds — free from worries, waiting for me to turn up on the terrace.