Pigeon Fancier

The pigeon far more than the finch takes a leading role in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. He explains the important role of domestic pigeons in the first chapter, 'Variation Under Domestication. "Believing that it is always best to study some special group, I have, after deliberation, taken up domestic pigeons." He kept an aviary and studied pigeons and the breeding of pigeons in great depth. Darwin also seems to have enjoyed this work far more than he must have expected to at the outset and became very passionate about these birds.

“Darwin loved his pigeons . . . he spent hours reading self-help manuals and books by breeders to make sure he was doing the right thing and visiting shows and exhibitions to see what was available. He found it very entertaining hobnobbing with breeding experts and trying to exude an air of practical knowledge as he leaned over cages of absurdly ruffled feathers. The esoteric world of pigeon fanciers seemed to him delightfully fresh and curious.”
–Janet Browne, from Charles Darwin: Voyaging

Even though the days of rooftop aviaries have passed, feral pigeons are a common sight in cities and small towns the world round. The once fancy domestic birds, the pouters and tumblers, have survived by rewilding the rooftops, instinctually loving tall building ledges the way their ancestors once loved cliffs.

"Great as the differences are between the breeds of pigeons, I am fully convinced that the common opinion of naturalists is correct, namely, that all have descended from the rock-pigeon (Columba livia)..."
–Charles Darwin, from On the Origin of Species

Posted on January 27, 2017 05:05 AM by scottking