WestView

Bird Talk

January 2009, by Scott Langer

Our reporter sits down with Anna Dove, Creator and Director of the New York Bird Club, to discuss all things avian.

I start every one of my bird interviews with the same question: If you could be a bird, what bird would you be?

Ms. Dove quickly replied that she’d be a pigeon because of how smart and friendly they are. I then asked her to replicate the noise a pigeon makes. “Woooo woo,” she trilled. (It’s more impressive in person. At this point I hope she was questioning my professionalism.) The West Village is as welcoming to the hip and rich, as it is to troublemakers, miscreants, and the universally rejected. So how the hell are we not bird friendly? Hey, I didn’t say it, Ms. Dove did, mentioning tickets given for pigeon-feeding and the mysterious disappearance of an entire flock of “sky rats” as many refer to them.

(Just as a side note, a pigeon is also a slang word for a woman who gets dates through false advertising then tries to get a man to do things like pay her bills.)

The New York Bird Club’s main mission is to turn public opinion of pigeons from filthy idiots to congenial and intelligent. By founding National Pigeon Day, they hope to educate those who have bought into anti-pigeon propaganda. (To read more, visit www.nationalpigeonday.blogspot.com). Currently they are having trouble finding a venue to hold NPD, but hope to host it in Union Square.

The NYBC does not exclusively advocate for pigeons, rather for all birds. One of their other main goals is to expose the cruelty of keeping birds caged. Ultimately, they want to stop the sale of birds in pet stores. Overzealous for some bird clubs, but with New York Bird Club’s passion, anything is possible. But what about “bad birds” — birds that commit bird-on-bird crime (eating other birds’ eggs, eye gouging, nest burning, etc.). Shouldn’t they be rounded up and put in bird prison? Ms. Dove responded by saying there is no such thing as a “bad bird” and that birds don’t do well in captivity. She said many birds get depressed when taken away from their loved ones, get insufficient exercise or are cooped up in a cage. Sadly, when a bird gets depressed it hunches its head, doesn’t eat, self-mutilates and sometimes commits bird suicide by strangling itself with one of its toys.

Ms. Dove also staunchly opposes wing-clipping being used to tame birds. “It’s like cutting the legs off an unruly toddler so it can’t run away,” she said. Many see wing-clipping as necessary for a bird’s health, so that it doesn’t hurt itself in the house. NYBC believes steps can be taken to “bird-proof” a house to make wing-clipping unnecessary. One step would be for pet stores to warn potential bird-owners about the large commitment of owning a bird. “When people buy a bird they hold it to the standards of a piece of art,” she said, “then the novelty wears off and people want to know how to make them quieter and prevent them from laying eggs.” This prompted me to ask if there is bird birth control. There is not. Ms. Dove raised the question, “If you illegally bring a wild pigeon into your home and it gives birth to baby pigeons are they considered domesticated?” This might have been a metaphor for illegal immigrants having children in the U.S.; I’m not sure.

So, the next time you are walking down Grove, or Bleecker, or Barrow and you see a pigeon, or any bird for that matter, I’d like you to say, “Hey, how are you? Welcome to the West Village where we love birds.” Yeah, I said it. Have an old meet-and-greet with a bird. It’s time the West Village became the forefront of the “Birds Aren’t So Bad” movement. It’s the least we can do — after all, “God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages” (New York Bird Club motto).

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