Silence of the Pigeons

Some say pigeons are just rats with wings, and up until a month or so ago I might have been one of them. When we first moved into our house, we noticed an inordinate amount of bird feces on the roof, and after the first night in our house we figured out why.

There were a pair of pigeons living on our roof, their nest conveniently tucked away right above our master bedroom window. Each day – and much too early I might add – the pigeons began cooing incessantly. This drove me nuts for about a month. Then I grew accustomed to it. Then I grew to like it.

Husband would often wake up angrily mumbling something about a “dang wildlife reserve” (we have a family of rabbits that frequent our yard), and then roll over and go back to sleep. Well, last weekend he had finally had enough. Knowing full well that I would try to stop him, he waited until I wasn’t home, went and bought a BB gun, and shot one of the birds.

Until yesterday, I had no idea this had even happened. I woke up early and noticed that I hadn’t heard the pigeons in a couple of days. Out of curiosity, I walked out the front door to check on them, and what I saw horrified me.

The pigeon that Husband shot was laying face down on the roof just a foot from its nest, and – here’s the part that sent me into tears – the other one was sitting in the nest making the most desperate crying sound. I couldn’t take it. I know pigeons are nasty. I know they make a mess. But I also knew that those two pigeons were a pair, and it broke my heart to see one grieving over the other.

Needless to say, I had words with Husband. His response to me was,”It’s not like they mate for life!”

Well, in my emotional state, I Googled it. Luck wasn’t with him. The first entry I see read: “Pigeons live in families and mate for life.”

This made me even more upset, and I threw (admittedly) a childish fit. While I was giving him the silent treatment, he promptly ran the other bird off and removed the nest (and the dead bird) from the roof. I’ll update you when we’re talking again…

In the mean time, here’s a video I managed to shoot one day while the male pigeon was strutting his stuff.

To read part 2 of the pigeon story, click here.