Pigeons get a bad rep and, to be honest, they're not the most aesthetically pleasing of creatures. Not only grey and dirty, so many London pigeons are scarred with bent wings, mangled feet, missing eyes.
Pigeons haven't made the news for a while, but the former (and indeed possibly future) mayor, Ken Livingstone, famously declared war on the Avian hordes in Trafalgar Square in 2000. A row rumbled on throughout the naughties between the authorities and a group called 'Save the Trafalgar Square Pigeons'.
Today, pigeons still thrive across the city as they always no doubt will. For those eating al fresco this spring, pigeons are a menace near enough everywhere. But as subjects for photography, pigeons are not only objects of disgust. As shown by this street photography book cover, pigeons can make for amusing, sometimes even whimsical, images.
Many thanks as always to the Londonist Flickr contributors: Andy Thornley, helenoftheways, __andrew, Simon Crubellier, Sabine Thoele, Hideous Penguin Boy, greybeardother, Paul Steptoe Riley, Ryan Gregory and brian wortman.
