pigeons

Winged rats, war heroes, outlaws, bloggers…the many sides to the humble pigeon.

Ken Livingstone may have banned pigeons from their ancestral home of Trafalgar Square, but the occasional avian rebel still intrudes. Last night a whole flock invaded. Members of Stitch London (formerly Stitch and Bitch) inundated the Square with tens of hand-made birds, reclaiming the space …

An old, dark, red-eyed pigeon pecks the ground as a handful of younger, sleeker pigeons surrounds him. He is telling a story between nervous twitches. It was quiet that day. July 2003. I’ll always remember that as the last day of peace. That was the …

Football clubs should, generally, stick to football. Staines Town FC decided to try out rifle-shooting, and as a consequence has managed to ruffle a lot of feathers. Apparently, the cleaner at the ground had been having huge problems keeping the stands spick and span. The …

As a patient admitted to hospital, the last thing you want to hear is the rat-a-tat-tat of the pest controllers at the door. According to the Conservative Party, 70% of health trusts were visited by the insect-busters at least 50 times over a twenty six …

The 2012 Olympic logo hasn’t been especially popular, but as London’s mascot hasn’t been chosen yet, there’s still hope it won’t be an eyesore. Recently, the BBC asked its readers to send in their suggestions for a Games mascot. The results posted today range from …

Yesterday, Leicester Square was overrun by pigeons. And no, they weren’t trying to dispute their 6th-most-populous-garden-bird ranking from yesterday. Best of all, nobody had to run screaming with paper bags held over their heads because these birds were paper. The 5,000 origami pigeons were part …

Twinkle, twinkle, little starling, how I wonder where you are(ling). While the Starling is still the most common bird found in London gardens, their numbers have declined from last year. In the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, an annual, hour-long event where bird enthusiasts or anyone …

Should you think, That’s odd, I thought Queen Victoria had been dead some 107 years, you wouldn’t be wrong. But a new tropical bird exhibit housed in a renovated Victorian pavilion deserves a proper launch, and who better to do the deed than the Queen …

Pigeons may be flying rats to Ken Livingstone and thousands of other Londoners – but to some, they are war heroes. And worth a pretty penny in portrait form. Oil paintings depicting the birds who flew back and forth during two world wars, acting as …