Origin and evolution of feral pigeons

Abstract Feral pigeons are among the most familiar birds to humans in most parts of the world. They may be welcomed or ignored or actively disliked, but nevertheless are a part of the lives of a great many people. This relationship has a history of thousands of years, to a greater or lesser degree depending on when the wild ancestors of feral pigeons were first domesticated. Only after domesticated pigeons began escaping captivity did such birds have the opportunity to develop characteristics that today we recognize as uniquely theirs and which require us to use the term “feral.” Purists will have noted that the epigraph to this chapter refers to the origins of domestic pigeons; but, the truth is that although Darwin did not address the origins of feral pigeons, his words apply as well to them as to domestics.