That first bird looks like a va-jay-jay from the 70's.

The colors on that last one are fantastic, almost reminds me of a pheasant.

Shame on you, Jen Carlson - I hear the NY Post has some positions open as your writing style in this case is clearly more compatible with their culture.

A large polished turd can be made to look pretty attractive as well! Seriously, I saw it on Mythbusters once...

for instance, just look in the mirror.

Geez, lighten up bird-dude

Reminds me of David Degner's Egyptian Fancy Pigeons series:
http://www.incendiaryimage.com...

They are beautiful.

Like

Okay, I look at this and think this:
http://library.thinkquest.org/...

Ever had squab? Pigeons are good for something!

I look outside my window every day and think "why go to whole foods when I can bait my dinner right into the stove"

Per the "disease ridden" link posted with this story-

"It is very unlikely that healthy people will become infected even at high levels of exposure."

"In New York City, psittacosis is very rare with less than one human case identified each year. According to the CDC, about 70% of infected people had contact with infected pet birds."

Even the CDC has said that there have been no recorded instances of disease transfer between feral pigeons and humans, and for NYC in particular:

"The New York City Department of Health has no documented cases of communicable disease transmitted from pigeons to humans."

So exactly why are pigeons disgusting disease-ridden horrors again? Every animal, including humans, carries some kind of microbial life on it that could be harmful in extreme circumstances. The only reason people consider pigeons a menace at all is because "pest" control companies make a hefty profit from it and have no issues spreading misinformation.

Also, these birds are bizarre and beautiful!

The whole "pigeons are a health hazard" myth was the result of a concerted ad campaigns orchestrated by poison manufacturers.

As far as "vermin" go, Pigeons are just about the least offensive animal you could imagine.

Great post! You did your research. I'm thinking maybe Gothamist is the disgusting disease ridden one not the pigeons.

Why are pigeons disgusting? They clean up after the slob humans who leave their food all over the place.

ok tell me there isn't something wrong with selective breeding... some of these things look like they just put a bunch of feathers and body parts in a bag and shook it really hard.

thats not a pigeon thats what I use to clean a toilet.

You clean your toilet? Surprising.

By toilet I mean your mothers face. Thats where I take a shit anyways.