Many people, I know, have an intense dislike of pigeons. Urban pigeons in particular arouse dislike if not contempt for their greed, scruffiness and absence of any sense of decorum. I on the other hand find them comical and not unlike, in their habits and behaviour, the primate with whom they have developed so close a relationship homo sapiens, you and me. Here a couple are profiled under the road bridge which bestrides the platforms in Tunbridge Wells railway station. It is a structure which pigeons have made their own, and in between the coming and going of trains and the intrusion of loudspeaker announcements can be heard purring to one another.
Have you noticed how cameras, video and still, have made a point of capturing sportsmen (men, seldom if ever women) with their jaws wide open exposing their teeth as though for a dentist? Sometimes they seem to be imitating lions in the process of roaring defiance or proclaiming supremacy over other animals; sometime they look more like crocodiles about to devour unsuspecting prey. I am thinking of making a collection of such pictures which may come in useful to frighten children who persist in misbehaving.
A little wildness in relatively ordered lives can be beneficial. As I prune the hedge it occurs to me that hedges are managed wildness.
3 comments:
I have a special fondness for Pigeons (and other animals) that have adapted to living side by side with Humans in cities. Pigeons are intelligent birds. That there are so many is a tribute to their ability to adapt from living on cliffs to living on tall buldings. They mate for life and both care for their offspring.
Recommended reading: Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird
Purring crocodiles. They do, you know, a deep, throaty purr that causes the waters they float in to roil and boil and splash like the oceans meeting lava at the edge of earth.
I like thinking of them purring, Joe. Adds to their sinister demeanor: smiling and purring with all those teeth in between.
Managed wildness. In fact the cutting is quite fun, especially with a hedge trimmer. Then comes the business of fitting long spiky strands into plastic bags for disposal: a Sisyphean labour.
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