4 Responses to “Collen Jerolmack: the “birdman””

Amanda P. Says:
March 25th, 2007 at 3:56 pm

Although I’ve been to Piazza San Marco and seen the pigeons, I had never compared Venice’s unique pigeon situation to New York’s. While tourists in Italy graciously allow the bird to land on themselves in droves, New Yorkers deem the pigeon useless; for the most part it is an unwelcome species in the urban landscape. As our perceptions illustrate, most view the bird as a nuisance. Reoccurring themes among the class included their poop and annoying cuing. For the most part I feel that we generalize pigeons. We think that they are all the same—some nondescript grey similar to the color of rats, but as Colin pointed out, they are not. They can have various coats and patterns which can be precious to the birds’ breeders. He as well, brought up another interesting comparison—the public’s attitude towards the pigeon versus that of the rarer and more respected red-tailed hawk. I was unaware that Palemale and Lola even existed, and I also did not know that non-native birds, like pigeons, are legally unprotected. Overall, I think much of the pigeon’s unpopularity can be attributed to its “ugliness” and in-your-face presence. If the animal happened to be more “exotic” looking they would probably be better respected. Similarly if they were more like squirrels in that they lived in trees and parks, they would be deemed less bothersome since they would be less visible. I wonder how our society would be if city streets were filled with blue jays. I have no doubt that they would be more embraced than the pigeon.

Becca B. Says:
March 27th, 2007 at 9:57 am

I really liked Collen’s lecture he made a compelling case for pigeons. He without being formally trained has truly become and “expert” in pigeons. I was particularly interested in the pigeon flyers in bushwick and am curious as to where i can find more information on his men.

Jesse Y. Says:
April 4th, 2007 at 6:04 pm

I liked collin’s presentation on pigeons. Of all the things he had talked about, I was particularly fond of his stories of the London Mayor, the pigeon men in bushwick, and pigeons in Venice. Having been to Piazza San Marco (twice) last year, I thought it was interesting seeing and hearing how different people interact with pigeons in a foreign country and at home. Pigeons are very smart animals. They think and act very similar to us human. I don’t know if Collin had visited Venice in the winter. I think it’s funny to observe how differently those pigeons behave according to the weather. On a rainy winter day, instead of scavenging for food in the piazza, they observe the tourist while standing in a straight line, against the wall, underneath the long renaissance hallways and cathedral.

Rachel Salame Says:
April 24th, 2007 at 11:25 pm

I must say that Collin’s lecture altered my view of pigeons. Instead of ignoring them or walking past them like I was used to doing, I now stop and watch what they are doing, whether or not they are alone, where they are and who is interacting with them.

I smile now when I see people feeding pigeons in the park or a group of pigeons huddled around a puddle of water. I think this is because I realize how ignorant I was. Pigeons have been a cohabitant of this city longer than I have been alive and I think it was extremely arrogant of myself to pretend as though they didn’t exist.

Recently in the NY Times Magazine there was an article entitled “Flight Patterns” by Jonathan Rosen that described the beauty of the “shapes that starlings create in the skies of Rome”. Interestingly, it mentions how “the birds are beloved by tourists and reviled by locals- understandably, since the droppings cover cars and streets, causing accidents and general disgust”

I think that if there was a way the bird poop could be a bit less random and therefore less likely to drop on cars and people, our attitude towards pigeons would change a lot.

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