If there is anything that defines modern life, it is how determinedly and constantly we are trained to not really see. We wake up and get to work ignoring things, like we’re being paid to do so. Human brains are naturally predisposed to ignoring the familiar, and focusing on the new, the different, the outrageous. Anything we’re surrounded by for too long grows invisible.

The humble pigeon is that ethos poured into a feathery, fragile little body. Pigeons are noticed only when they seem particularly foul, paid mind only when they annoy us. They are also victim of rampant animal welfare crimes: pelted with rocks, chased from dwellings, killed and maimed en mass.

Which is ironic, because, as it goes with so many problems we face, pigeons are a “problem” that we have caused. Feral pigeons are descendants of homing pigeons that we kept and domesticated. We loved them, once. We might not remember that, but pigeons do. They are naturally predisposed to want to be close to us. They gather where we gather. They thrive as a result of the particular way we have decided to live, rooting through our trash, taking shelter in our nests.

We once loved pigeons. We might not remember that, but they do | Joseph Earp | The Guardian

The whole article is worth reading. Thanks for the tip, Matt.