Pigeons deserve better! Trust me, I fed one.

Pigeons: we know them, but do we love them? Historically, yes. Currently, no. In the 21st century, pigeons are colloquially referred to as “the rats of the sky,” “trash birds” and, most fondly, “damn nuisances.” Sitting on a park bench in the heart of Rome this summer, I found myself unable to look away from the small, gray birds that sat mere feet away from me, ruffling their feathers in the rain and looking for their next snack. 

I once heard that Rome was one of the dirtiest cities in the world, and I was inclined to agree as I wandered; it didn’t strike me as odd that its most frequent fliers, the birds in front of me, littered the streets — dirty city, dirty birds. Feeling particularly emotional and somewhat romantic in the light August mist, I couldn’t help but wonder how the useful carrier pigeon was reduced to what we know them as today: filthy little aves.

Exploited for centuries for their magnetoreception — their ability to sense earth’s magnetic field — pigeons were once treasured as couriers. They were used to deliver messages and warnings on battlefields, and they soon became representative of increasing globalization as early as 3,000 B.C.E.

Pigeons were used in both World Wars to aid communicative efforts; they were taken to one side of a battlefield and then released back to their home coop on the opposite side, delivering potentially life-saving news. Their efforts earned them the unyielding admiration. And, captured in paintings throughout the years, most notably by Picasso, pigeons were once thought to be symbols of peace, tranquility and unity.

This begs the question: How, and why, did pigeons suffer such a dramatic fall from grace?

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Elizabeth Young, director of the “Palomacy Pigeon & Dove Adoptions” rehabilitation center, detailed the way pigeons exist in the modern world.

“(Pigeons are) victims of their own success.” Young said. “(Pigeons) have managed to survive in our human world. And even though they are always on the verge of starvation, they’re repopulating, you know, they’re hardy.” 

Because of their resilience, pigeons became nuisances once society no longer had use for them. It wasn’t that a singular pigeon committed some horrible, unforgivable act against a human and we never forgave them. No, it’s that in the wake of our advancement as a species, we left pigeons behind. 

Much of the contempt that we feel towards pigeons has come from the idea that they are dirty. We see them walking the city streets, click-clacking their way through life with their dull coats and beady eyes, and we call them vectors for disease — an idea that has become entrenched in our cultural consciousness. 

The last time someone contracted a fatal disease from a pigeon was in December of 2023. The disease, pigeon avian paramyxovirus-1, is a viral infection that is typically spread by pigeons to pigeons. It is unlikely that humans can contract this specific strain of paramyxovirus, but when they do, it typically causes, at most, mild conjuctivitis. In this case, though, a 2-year-old toddler suffered fatal neurological symptoms, continuing to reinforce the idea of the malevolent pigeon. However, according to the volunteered-based rescue organization, Greenwich Wildlife Network, what we conveniently leave out is that other diseases, such as salmonella and psittacosis are only spread by pigeons, or any wild bird, roughly 0.2% of the time — meaning that 99.8% of salmonella and psittacosis outbreaks are not pigeon-related in origin. And, believe it or not, pigeons are oftentimes not carriers of avian influenza, or otherwise known as the infamous “bird flu.” 

I wanted to know more about the true nature of pigeons, and not just what the zeitgeist has claimed to be universally correct. I joined a Facebook group titled “The Michigan Pigeon Club” and searched for answers there. I yearned to know how pigeons got such a bad reputation, and I wanted to know why we hated them so much. What better place to learn the answers to these pressing questions than from the pigeon enthusiasts of my state? Pigeons really couldn’t be all that bad, could they? I mean, if you look at them from the right angles, sometimes they might even be cute. 

I got an overwhelming amount of responses, and more than half of them directed me to Stassia Fulmer, the owner of Stassia’s Pigeon Pants Shop. Before I even begin to unpack Stassia’s take on pigeon pants, it’s worth mentioning that she is the go-to pigeon rescue and rehabilitation expert in eastern Michigan. To answer my questions, I took a trip out to Jackson to see her pigeons, and hear what she had to say about these birds. 

Upon my arrival, Fulmer brought me straight back to her pigeon pen, which was carefully constructed to ward off potential predators. There had to have been at least 15 pigeons in there. She had named them all. Between holding Midge, one of her birds, and explaining how she got to be the foremost pigeon rescuer on the east side, I realized that I really didn’t know anything about pigeons at all. With the birds flapping about the enclosure and cooing their way into my heart, I listened as Fulmer told me about her first pigeon, Fran.

“So my first pigeon, Fran, she became bonded to me to the point where she would cuddle me. She was like a dog,” Fulmer said. “When I came home, she was excited to see me, to follow me around everywhere. She had a little nest next to me in my bed, … but that’s not abnormal, actually.” 

I could not believe my ears. Pigeons … as pets? When I think of what a typical pet looks like, I picture my own cat, curled up in my lap or dozing in the mid-afternoon sun. One typically thinks of a furry, mammalian companion as the best and most customary pet, but I knew that Fulmer’s love for her birds was real, and that these critters loved her right back, just like any good pet would. 

Throughout our interview, Fulmer apologized continuously about the state of the pigeons’ feathers, explaining how a couple of her birds were a little under the weather (pigeon feathers can dull when they don’t feel well, apparently). I marveled at her affectionate fussing. I, personally, had never seen a pigeon look better, but Fulmer cooed nonetheless.

You hear stories about people rescuing the underdog shelter animal: the mangy, skinny dog or the feline missing an ear. You don’t often hear about rescuing the real underdog, or should I say underbird: pigeons. Historically, this species has been through hell and back, but there I stood, watching a pigeon, against all odds, cuddle with a woman who had given it a chance. 

I felt all of my biases against the birds slip away; I wanted to cuddle with a pigeon now. I almost asked her where I might acquire one of these guys. Which, actually, isn’t all that hard to do. 

White pigeons, sometimes indistinguishable from doves, are released and then rescued quite often in the Ann Arbor area, Fulmer told me. She explained that a lot of the rescues she gets notified of are birds that were used for ceremonial purposes on wedding days. Unfortunately, the newly betrothed typically don’t think about the fact that they’re releasing domesticated animals, like trained pigeons, into the wild — unable to survive. 

Left: Fulmer’s pigeons sit upon wooden boxes in their pen in Jackson Monday, Sept. 30. Right: One of Fulmer’s pigeons sits on a makeshift branch in the pigeon pen in Jackson Monday, Sept. 30. Riley Nieboer/Daily. Buy this photo.

In light of these malpractices, Fulmer told me about her own efforts to keep pigeons safe and happy while I crouched down to feed the bravest of her flock who dared to nibble from my palm.

“I’ve rehomed several pigeons in our area. Someone finds one and they’re like, ‘I don’t know what to do with it.’ I’ll take it off your hands and I will help you get it to the next home. I’ve done that several times,” Fulmer said.

Fran, Fulmer’s first rescue pigeon, was actually a wedding release. According to Palomacy, the “dove release” industry is surprisingly harmful. Even under the best circumstances, these trained doves and pigeons are hurt, lost and killed. Not many, if any at all, will survive.

Carelessly releasing these domesticated feathered friends has created the need for pigeon rescue groups. Dedicated individuals like Fulmer and her one-woman show, and rescue nonprofits like Palomacy, are constantly working towards educating the population and breaking down stereotypes that perpetuate pigeon vileness. 

Young explained to me how Palomacy seeks to combat these negative stereotypes. 

“Everybody knows pigeons, but nobody knows pigeons,” Young said. “One of the things I say is to meet a pigeon is to fall in love with pigeons. And so I think that all of this advocacy and the rescuing and the adopting is counteracting the negative publicity that is actually very false.”

While Young and the Palomacy center work toward a broader audience, educating people on the kind-hearted nature of pigeons, Fulmer makes pigeon pants. The keeping, rescuing and raising of at least a dozen pigeons isn’t cheap; I’m certain that the costs of bird feed adds up, and the money to fund these expenditures has to come from somewhere. In Fulmer’s case, her income from making pigeon pants aids her continued efforts to rescue and rehabilitate her beloved birds. 

In her own way, Fulmer is combatting the cynical lens through which we see pigeons. I mean, how can you hate a bird that’s wearing a diaper?

While Fulmer did not invent bird diapers or pigeon pants, she did come across the idea from the Palomacy group. She ordered some for her own birds and wasn’t satisfied. So, with a sewing background and a dream, she got to work. It started with a casual post to her own following, but she quickly received requests to make more. She says that now, making pigeon pants accounts for one of her main sources of income. 

“99.9% of my customers are pigeons. And it’s all over the world. I ship them all over the world,” Fulmer said. “Most of my clients are in San Francisco (where the Palomacy group is located). But I’ve sent them to Germany. I’ve sent them to Romania. I’ve sent them to Australia. All over.”

“The pigeon world, it can be very happy. And that’s how I approach things,” Fulmer said.

We’ve vilified pigeons; we project our disdain for urban grime onto these resilient birds, but they truly don’t deserve it. Once revered for their intelligence and loyalty, pigeons have been unjustly discarded as mere pests. After meeting Fulmer’s affectionate flock and learning from dedicated rescuers like Young, I’ve come to realize that pigeons are far more than just “trash birds.” They are creatures worthy of our respect and admiration. They’re capable of bonding, loving and thriving when given the chance. I can’t say I’ll ever find myself in a position to actually own a pigeon, but the next time I hear someone call them a “rat bird,” I’ll say something — because to know pigeons, truly, is to love them.

Statement Correspondent Anna McLean can be reached at agmclean@umich.edu. 

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