There was a time when passenger pigeons were the most numerous birds in North America. Huge flights of the medium- sized birds were said to actually darken the sky in their massive numbers.
The pigeons were at the apex of the avian kingdom, the unchallenged, most numerous birds around.
And then things took a drastic turn. Hunters killed the pigeons by the thousands. They supplied restaurants with birds and killed for their own gastric gratification.
The pigeons were quite tasty when cooked. It was so easy to kill the unwary birds that some folks simply used long sticks to knock them from their perches in trees.
And so the pigeon numbers plummeted. The final pigeon was kept in the Cincinnati Zoo and died in 1914.
Today another bird is being persecuted in a similar fashion – not because it is good to eat but simply because it is unpopular – the European Starling.
This bird was introduced in the U.S. when a few birds were imported from Europe and released in New York. They spread across the country and eventually earned the reputation of being a pest that pooped in all the wrong places.
Many strategies were adopted to control the purplish-black birds, including traveling “bird men” who specialized in starling control. Artillery and firehoses were employed, and special soaps were formulated to wash away the protective oil in the starlings’ feathers.
Let’s face it, starlings are not very popular birds. But in their defense, they do go about their daily business with no intent to harm humans in any way. They are, after all, just birds.
As a matter of fact, humans as a species are much more violent, noisy and disruptive.
Maybe we’re the ones who need controlling.
