This is the strange story of a pigeon who had been abused by young people in a public house in Nottingham, UK. No doubt the pigeon had arrived to pick up some food and the abuse started. Hannah Hall, an NHS worker, then turned up at the public house, the Rose and Crown, and sat in the beer garden and the pigeon befriended her. She hadn’t intended to go out but her mum talked her into it. She got a good result from the visit in terms of TikTok viewings 😎.
It seems that the pigeon was seeking a friend after the abuse. Pigeons have a long history of domestication and it would seem that, instinctively, this pigeon was seeking protection from a friendly human as they are able to recognise the difference between friendly and unfriendly humans. They can do this visually as they have great eyesight.
Hannah is clearly a decent person. She likes vintage things. She has a TikTok webpage in which she shows off her vintage clothes and it’s popular.
She decided to document her relationship with her pigeon on TikTok. And lo and behold she immediately got a hit video which you can see below. And below that video is another in which she talks about how her pigeon is settling in to his new home.
@realvintagedollshouse I’ll never turn away a creature in need, am I now the home alone pigeon lady? #pigeon #pigeontok #pigeonlady #feedthebirds #babybird #animallover #animalinneed #wild #bird #birdtok #homingpigeon #storytime #unexpectedfriendship #adviceneeded #birdkeeper
Note: The video above is embedded into this website. I can’t guarantee that it will be in place indefinitely. The video below is served by this website and therefore it will remain on the site indefinitely.
The relationship developed and the pigeon – yet to be sexed – settled in and began to feel more relaxed and at home:
The story is more about people than pigeons, actually, because on the one hand we have a group of people who were insensitive to the needs of this sentient creature and on the other hand we have Hannah Hall who was sensitive and wanted to help. You can divide the world up into those two groups.
Hannah had found out that the pigeon had been abused because a member of staff at the public house approached her and told her about the mistreatment. The pigeon had been kicked by some customers and others tried to shoo it away. In general people see pigeons as dirty and troublesome creatures. They are, however, amazing animals. It is not clear if the pigeon was hurt and the gender is to be decided. She refers to her pigeon as a male.
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As mentioned, they recognise people who are nice to them. Researchers believe that they recognise friendly people by their appearance. They are the first birds that humans domesticated going back to about 5,000 years ago. Although, the first pigeons may have been domesticated as far back as 10,000 years ago.
They have extraordinary vision and are able to discriminate between a wide range of subtle colours. They can differentiate between as many as five spectral bands. It is believed that they see the world through a virtual kaleidoscope of colours. They can suck up water apparently! And they’ve been taught the human alphabet. They can distinguish each letter of the alphabet when taught to do so. And they been taught mathematics. They can learn abstract mathematical concepts. And, yes, they been taught ping-pong as well.
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In the First World War we are told that one pigeon saved nearly 200 US troops. They were trapped behind enemy lines and were being fired on by the Germans. They had carrier pigeons and used them to seek help. The first two pigeons were shot down but a third pigeon named Cher Ami got through. The bird was shot several times but survived and delivered the life-saving note. The pigeon was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French.
Some individual pigeons can fly at 100 mph. Some pigeons have been used for aerial photography way back in 1907 when a German pharmacist developed special bird-mounted cameras. And pigeons are monogamous. They have long-term relationships with a single significant other. And when they are ‘married’, they are great parents. They produce cute offspring. Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?
One man, Nicola Tesla, the famed eccentric inventor, loved pigeons and he lived with a white pigeon until the pigeon passed. He said of his pigeon companion: “I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman, and she loved me.”
Below are some more pages on the maligned pigeon. I feed pigeons! Well, they feed off what the squirrels leave.
