Here’s the thing about pigeons: if you’re one of those people who hate them and think of them as “flying rats”, well tough, because it’s our own fault. Pigeons aren’t wild animals who have taken to living in our towns, like urban foxes say; they are domesticated animals, like dogs and cows, some of which have escaped, been abandoned or deliberately released. They were domesticated, most likely somewhere in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, thousands of years ago and throughout almost all of human history ever since have been liked, valued, admired, at times revered. Alongside the dog and the horse, they have been one of our favourite companions on this planet. To a lot of people they still are of course. Charles Darwin loved them (much of Chapter One of On the Origin of Species is devoted to them), as did Pablo Picasso who not only painted them but named his daughter after them (Paloma, his “little dove”); the Mughal emperor Akbar, Queen Victoria, inventor Nikola Tesla, painters Claude Monet and Henri Matisse, head of the fashion house Maurizio Gucci, Yul Brynner and Walt Disney—pigeon fanciers all. To others though, and only during the last thin sliver of our history, they have suddenly morphed into something very different. I came to this book as a pretty big pigeon fan already, so I didn’t personally need further convincing that pigeons are incredible. However, the book was so informative and enthusiastic about pigeons that I am making a commitment to stanning pigeons even more actively. Correction: An earlier version of this blog stated that well-fed pigeons made the optimal choice of the pea and milo seed. It should have stated that hungry pigeons made the optimal choice. Somewhat hungry pigeons were more likely to choose only the pea.

and many other crop planting books should be read by breeders of racing Pigeons as you will find valuble imformation inside.as many..racehorse breeders have themselves. Thanks to the power of the internet it's hard to keep a secret. I am interested in his writing and it doesn't matter if the book says "Old Hand" or " Bishop" BUT I believe a good Flyer can in a few years turn an average group of birds into a winning family. JMHO At the annual meeting of the American Psychological Assocation this past weekend, Zentall presented new research on the pigeon version of yet another cognitive bias, the “less is more” heuristic. When making rapid judgments between two things we tend to give greater weight to the average quality of our options rather than the overall quantity. For example, in one famous experiment done by behavioral scientist Christopher Hsee, participants were asked to rate two collections of dinnerware. One set consisted of 24 pristine plates. The other set contained 31 perfect pieces plus nine broken ones. The participants tended to place a higher value on the smaller set—even though the second option contained more flawless dishes. In other countries fanciers have the choice to fly sprint , middle , long distance and many, if not all specialize at a distance. They can find several races at their distance to compete.They develop a family to compete at that distance over several years and breed for it.

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

To look more closely at this surprising behavior, the team divided the pigeons into two groups to see if the birds' level of hunger might play a role. When the pigeons were hungrier,* they made the optimal choice, going for the pea and the milo seed. When the pigeons were only somewhat hungry, they suddenly behaved like humans and chose just the pea. "If it's really important to them they go for quantity," Zentall explains. "If they're not so hungry they go for quality." Fun, funny, interesting, illuminating book. How much did I like it? Only 50% into the book, I acquired two physical copies to give out for Christmas.

I love pigeons. This book loves pigeons. Therefore, I love this book. Is it a true 5 star read? Debatable, but the commitment to the lil' goofballs means it deserves it. I've always summed up my love for pigeons with a simple, "They think they're people!" (A phrase this book uses as well) I love the way they bob their heads and ride the subway, and after reading this I've more convinced that they ARE people. They're remarkably adaptable, trading their more traditional cliffside homes for nooks in manmade structures. They carry messages and build messy nests, get jealous easily, clean themselves, and have lived alongside humans just as long as dogs and rats. The book's first thing that stands out is the humour laced into every paragraph. This begins with the introduction itself. The author enjoys the topic, or that is what shines through the entire book. Zentall suggests that across species, quality may be easier--that is, faster--to judge than quantity. In the wild pigeons typically face competition from their fellow birds, so the bird that reacts the fastest to the sight of food is most likely to snag the morsel. Our ancestors likely faced similar pressures.Here in "USA" ,in YBS. and OBS. we fly race season ( YBS. 100-350 miles) (OBS. 100-600 miles) . I feel you are best suited to find birds that will compete from 100-600 miles. Yes ,their are families of birds that have that ability. My quibbles are that it’s all just a little too cutesy. The cute parts are funny and appealing but it feels just a bit dumbed down. Or perhaps young adults are the target audience and I’m judging unfairly. The illustrations are also cute but not as informative as I might’ve hoped, and I spent a lot of time on Google Images marveling at the pigeon variety and beauty.