In article , dave
writes
Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing sounds,
their filthy habits... And yet people feed these vermin in town squares and yes,
even back gardens. I know I am not alone in my pigeon hate world - Bill Bryson
has a paragraph about these pea-brained creatures of filth in his book "Tales
from a Small Island" book.

Ah,,, that's better.

ps small print: I was just trying to bring a little smile to all on sunny
Wednesday morning :-) (which would be nice and quiet if it weren't for the damn
pigeons!!!! Yes I watch The league of Gentlemen


Well I've managed to down a few this year with the old .22 Webley..

Not quite as many as some on here)

http://www.pigeonwatch.co.uk/

--
Tony Sayer

There was a reason God made airguns....

"dave" wrote in message
...
Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing
sounds,
their filthy habits... And yet people feed these vermin in town squares
and yes,
even back gardens. I know I am not alone in my pigeon hate world - Bill
Bryson
has a paragraph about these pea-brained creatures of filth in his book
"Tales
from a Small Island" book.

Ah,,, that's better.

ps small print: I was just trying to bring a little smile to all on sunny
Wednesday morning :-) (which would be nice and quiet if it weren't for
the damn
pigeons!!!! Yes I watch The league of Gentlemen

I like pigeons. I like their noise. They're beautiful. They're not as filthy
as humans. Their droppings are the best fertiliser ever. Just because a
famous author makes comments doesn't make them true.

I hope that those people who kill them also eat them, they're delicious. If
they're left to rot on the ground they cause far more problems than when
they were alive.

If pigeons are the worst problem you'll ever have in your life you'll be
very fortunate.

Mary

dave wrote:
Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing sounds,
their filthy habits...

Woody Allen describes them as "rats with wings". Should you wish to use
animal psychology to show them your superiority, clap your hands and
suddenly raise your arms sideways. They seem to think that you are some
sort of uber-pigeon and have taken fright. Once one in a group reacts
the rest follow it into the air. One of these days, I must try it in a
large square full of pigeons. Being so stupid pigeons have little
capacity for avoidance learning and come back to the same place, making
this a game you can carry on playing indefinitely. I see sloution number
22 has already been suggested.

There was that guy who was netting them In Trafalgar Square and selling
them to Turkish restaurants. You may perhaps take this on as an
enjoyable and lucrative hobby. ;-)

John Schmitt

"John Schmitt" wrote in message
...


dave wrote:
Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing
sounds,
their filthy habits...

Woody Allen describes them as "rats with wings".

So?

Should you wish to use animal psychology to show them your superiority,
clap your hands and suddenly raise your arms sideways. They seem to think
that you are some sort of uber-pigeon and have taken fright. Once one in a
group reacts the rest follow it into the air.

How do you know what they seem to think?

In some places I know, if you raise your arms sideways the pigeons will sit
on them. I suppose you think that it's because they think you're a tree.
It's not at all, they've learned that there's usually something to eat at
the end of your arm.

One of these days, I must try it in a large square full of pigeons.

Oh, what a big man you'll be then!

Being so stupid pigeons have little capacity for avoidance learning and
come back to the same place, making this a game you can carry on playing
indefinitely.

So you're playing it indefinitely? Does that make you stupid, with a little
capacity for learning?

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away with
no previous experience?

Of course you can't. Does that make you stupid?

To say that any other creature is stupid because it doesn't behave like you
is irrational.

Mary

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 09:21:36 GMT, dave wrote:

Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing sounds,
their filthy habits... And yet people feed these vermin in town squares and yes,
even back gardens. I know I am not alone in my pigeon hate world - Bill Bryson
has a paragraph about these pea-brained creatures of filth in his book "Tales
from a Small Island" book.

Ah,,, that's better.

ps small print: I was just trying to bring a little smile to all on sunny
Wednesday morning :-) (which would be nice and quiet if it weren't for the damn
pigeons!!!! Yes I watch The league of Gentlemen

Personally I hate them and their stupid noises. There are two types
you are likely to see however: The common "town pigeon" (Columba
livia) which doesn't have the white band round its neck, and the Wood
Pigeon (Columba palumbus) which does have the white band. I'm not too
sure if it's a good idea to eat town pigeons.

Wood pigeons are more likely what you get "in suburbia".

You can't shoot pigeons without a good reason. The general license
issued each year by defra under the wildlife and countryside act 1981
lists these reason for killing these birds:

Preventing the spread of disease
Preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock,
crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters.

"I hate them" or "they're tasty" is unfortunately not enough.

Anyway, if pigeons are bad, magpies are a lot worse!

Oh and grey squirrels are quite tasty.

Mr F.

Mr Fizzion wrote:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 09:21:36 GMT, dave wrote:

Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid
cooing sounds, their filthy habits... And yet people feed these
vermin in town squares and yes, even back gardens. I know I am not
alone in my pigeon hate world - Bill Bryson has a paragraph about
these pea-brained creatures of filth in his book "Tales from a Small
Island" book.

Ah,,, that's better.

ps small print: I was just trying to bring a little smile to all on
sunny Wednesday morning :-) (which would be nice and quiet if it
weren't for the damn pigeons!!!! Yes I watch The league of
Gentlemen

Personally I hate them and their stupid noises. There are two types
you are likely to see however: The common "town pigeon" (Columba
livia) which doesn't have the white band round its neck, and the Wood
Pigeon (Columba palumbus) which does have the white band. I'm not too
sure if it's a good idea to eat town pigeons.

Wood pigeons are more likely what you get "in suburbia".

You can't shoot pigeons without a good reason. The general license
issued each year by defra under the wildlife and countryside act 1981
lists these reason for killing these birds:

Preventing the spread of disease
Preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock,
crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters.

"I hate them" or "they're tasty" is unfortunately not enough.

Anyway, if pigeons are bad, magpies are a lot worse!

Oh and grey squirrels are quite tasty.

Mr F.

You forgot...pigeons can be shot in a built up area and its illegal to feed
them in that same instance.
A woman in my street was fined for feeding them daily, guess what no more
pigeons.

Personally rat poison does wonders mixed with bread.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:55:20 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away with
no previous experience?


Of course you can't. Does that make you stupid?

I am one of the clever ones who can

a) read signposts
b) Ask for directions to the nearest train station
c) Recognise a phone box from a fair distance away
d) Work a mobile phone
e) Read a map
f) hail a taxi

and many other useful skills that would come in handy if I were ever
left in some park in Halifax (I've never been to Halifax BTW).


To say that any other creature is stupid because it doesn't behave like you
is irrational.

To insist any creature with a brain the size of a pea is NOT stupid
is, well, a bit weird.

As it happens I don't mind pigeons too much - the birds I hate are
bloody magpies! A cooing pigeon is pleasant compared the squawking of
any member of the crow family that spots my cat strolling through the
garden. The damn magpies even come and sit on the balcony chairs and
scream at the cat asleep on our bed! If it were not for the fact that
we have neigbours one side and over the back I would get an air-rifle
and take a few potshots.

In article , Mr Fizzion
writes
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 09:21:36 GMT, dave wrote:

Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing
sounds,
their filthy habits... And yet people feed these vermin in town squares and
yes,
even back gardens. I know I am not alone in my pigeon hate world - Bill Bryson
has a paragraph about these pea-brained creatures of filth in his book "Tales
from a Small Island" book.

Ah,,, that's better.

ps small print: I was just trying to bring a little smile to all on sunny
Wednesday morning :-) (which would be nice and quiet if it weren't for the
damn
pigeons!!!! Yes I watch The league of Gentlemen

Personally I hate them and their stupid noises. There are two types
you are likely to see however: The common "town pigeon" (Columba
livia) which doesn't have the white band round its neck, and the Wood
Pigeon (Columba palumbus) which does have the white band. I'm not too
sure if it's a good idea to eat town pigeons.

Wood pigeons are more likely what you get "in suburbia".

You can't shoot pigeons without a good reason. The general license
issued each year by defra under the wildlife and countryside act 1981
lists these reason for killing these birds:

Preventing the spread of disease
Preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock,
crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters.

"I hate them" or "they're tasty" is unfortunately not enough.

Anyway, if pigeons are bad, magpies are a lot worse!

Oh and grey squirrels are quite tasty.

Yep!, there're fair game too)

--
Tony Sayer

Mary Fisher wrote:
[snip]
Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles
away with no previous experience?


Isn't it amazing when your half legless through drink you manage to find
your way back home. :-) mind you it takes you longer when drunk because its
2 steps forward and 3 steps back. lol

in 438697 20050817 125520 "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"John Schmitt" wrote in message
...


dave wrote:
Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing
sounds,
their filthy habits...

Woody Allen describes them as "rats with wings".

So?

Should you wish to use animal psychology to show them your superiority,
clap your hands and suddenly raise your arms sideways. They seem to think
that you are some sort of uber-pigeon and have taken fright. Once one in a
group reacts the rest follow it into the air.

How do you know what they seem to think?

In some places I know, if you raise your arms sideways the pigeons will sit
on them. I suppose you think that it's because they think you're a tree.
It's not at all, they've learned that there's usually something to eat at
the end of your arm.

One of these days, I must try it in a large square full of pigeons.

Oh, what a big man you'll be then!

Being so stupid pigeons have little capacity for avoidance learning and
come back to the same place, making this a game you can carry on playing
indefinitely.

So you're playing it indefinitely? Does that make you stupid, with a little
capacity for learning?

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away with
no previous experience?

Of course you can't. Does that make you stupid?

To say that any other creature is stupid because it doesn't behave like you
is irrational.

Mary

I'm with you, Mary. People who think our wildlife exists just for their amusement
are a lower life-form than slugs, especially those who enjoy killing.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:24:27 GMT, "ben" wrote:


You forgot...pigeons can be shot in a built up area and its illegal to feed
them in that same instance.
A woman in my street was fined for feeding them daily, guess what no more
pigeons.

Personally rat poison does wonders mixed with bread.

That sounds pretty non-selective. It will kill any bird that eats it I
guess.

Mr F.

I'm with you, Mary. People who think our wildlife exists just for their amusement
are a lower life-form than slugs, especially those who enjoy killing.

What about those who belittle slugs?

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:34:41 GMT, Bob Martin
wrote:

I'm with you, Mary. People who think our wildlife exists just for their amusement
are a lower life-form than slugs, especially those who enjoy killing.

My neighbours cat appears to enjoy killing the birds in my back
garden. Does that make it a lower life form than a slug?

I don't think the "highness" or "lowness" of a lifeform is dictated by
whether it enjoys killing.

Mr F.

Mr Fizzion wrote:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:24:27 GMT, "ben" wrote:


You forgot...pigeons can be shot in a built up area and its illegal
to feed them in that same instance.
A woman in my street was fined for feeding them daily, guess what no
more pigeons.

Personally rat poison does wonders mixed with bread.

That sounds pretty non-selective. It will kill any bird that eats it I
guess.

Mr F.

I have'nt seen any birds in my garden for a while. :-)

Vera wrote:
As it happens I don't mind pigeons too much - the birds I hate are
bloody magpies!

I don't mind magpies as long as there are two of them :-)

I dislike gulls. They used to be a nice characteristic of the seaside
but now they've moved into towns they seem to have got a lot more
aggressive.

Owain

"Mary Fisher" wrote:

I like pigeons. I like their noise. They're beautiful. They're not as filthy
as humans. Their droppings are the best fertiliser ever.

Must be some very mucky humans you are acquainted with! All the crap
that drops on my back lawn below where the filthy buggers perch on a
convenient tree branch kills anything it touches. On the good side I
think the Magpies took out all but one chick from the nest and had a
good feed on my garage roof.

Its tempting to get a mate round with his shotgun and do a vertical
discharge right up the tree - I think we might be just ok legally but
it won't half scare the neighbours ;-) Then take out the Magpies and
the Crows and we might end up with proper sized birds in the garden
again.

--

"Mary Fisher" wrote:

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away with
no previous experience?

What do you think sat nav is for? Some women can even navigate using
it ;-)


--

"Vera" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:55:20 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away
with
no previous experience?


Of course you can't. Does that make you stupid?

I am one of the clever ones who can

a) read signposts
b) Ask for directions to the nearest train station
c) Recognise a phone box from a fair distance away
d) Work a mobile phone
e) Read a map
f) hail a taxi

All those need previous experience, which I specified. A pigeon doesn't do
any of those.


To say that any other creature is stupid because it doesn't behave like
you
is irrational.

To insist any creature with a brain the size of a pea is NOT stupid
is, well, a bit weird.

You've seen the size of pigeon's brain then?

Or - more relevantly - compared it, size for size, with a human brain?

As it happens I don't mind pigeons too much - the birds I hate are
bloody magpies! A cooing pigeon is pleasant compared the squawking of
any member of the crow family that spots my cat strolling through the
garden. The damn magpies even come and sit on the balcony chairs and
scream at the cat asleep on our bed! If it were not for the fact that
we have neigbours one side and over the back I would get an air-rifle
and take a few potshots.

I'm not keen on cats, they scratch in my garden and leave stinking deposits
and they account for more small bird deaths than all the magpie (corvid)
family combined. And they howl and spit and scratch and leave pawmarks on
the windows and cars - and have ruined an expensive caravan cover by
climbing up a corner of it and shredding the top.

They're cats. As pigeons are pigeons and mapies are magpies. None of them
has damaged the Earth or others of their own kind as much as Man. Which is
superior?

Mary

"Mr Fizzion" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 09:21:36 GMT, dave wrote:

Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing
sounds,
their filthy habits... And yet people feed these vermin in town squares
and yes,
even back gardens. I know I am not alone in my pigeon hate world - Bill
Bryson
has a paragraph about these pea-brained creatures of filth in his book
"Tales
from a Small Island" book.

Ah,,, that's better.

ps small print: I was just trying to bring a little smile to all on sunny
Wednesday morning :-) (which would be nice and quiet if it weren't for
the damn
pigeons!!!! Yes I watch The league of Gentlemen

Personally I hate them and their stupid noises.

Why are their noises 'stupid'?

... I'm not too
sure if it's a good idea to eat town pigeons.

They're descended from rock doves which were bred for food - in dovecotes.
Why wouldn't be a good idea to eat them?

Wood pigeons are more likely what you get "in suburbia".

Eh?

....

Oh and grey squirrels are quite tasty.

But very difficult to skin.

Mr F.

In article , "John Schmitt" John49
@mdx.ac.uk says...


dave wrote:
Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing sounds,
their filthy habits...

Woody Allen describes them as "rats with wings".

I like rats too :-)

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:21:34 +0100, Matt
wrote:

Its tempting to get a mate round with his shotgun and do a vertical
discharge right up the tree - I think we might be just ok legally but
it won't half scare the neighbours ;-) Then take out the Magpies and
the Crows and we might end up with proper sized birds in the garden
again.

LMAO. I love the concept of "proper sized birds".

Could you do the same thing round some of my local nightspots? :-)))

Mr F.

Mary Fisher wrote:


How do you know what they seem to think?

By reading on the subject. My curiosity seems to know few bounds.


One of these days, I must try it in a large square full of pigeons.

Oh, what a big man you'll be then!

I am interested how far the effect will propagate. Curiosity again. Must
but a box of crow scarers as part of the experiment. 11th commandment
applies.

So you're playing it indefinitely? Does that make you stupid, with a little
capacity for learning?

More live the fact I have favorite films and places. Just because I have
eaten a particular dish seems not to be a reason to repeat the excersise.

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away with
no previous experience?

Of course you can't. Does that make you stupid?

Of course I *can*. North is easily found and folowed by a number of
methods. There is this thing called the sun, which reliably shows and
tracking the shadow of a stick gives it away. Assuming my watch is with
me, this can also be used to find North and indeed which hemisphere I am
in . It also helps with latitude. A magnetic compass is useful, assuming
the capsule is balanced for the correct latitudes, although within a
couple of thousand miles of the magnetic poles it is unreliable. The old
polar explorers used sextants for navigation. At night, of course, you
can use a star fix to navigate. These days, I have become lazy and own a
GPS unit. Start walking and an arrow points to your selected
destination. Should I wish to visit my brother's old address, it is at
40 46' 43.0"N 73 59' 18.2"W It is a bit of a swim.

To say that any other creature is stupid because it doesn't behave like you
is irrational.

There seems to a fairly strong case for evidence-based reasoning, as
opposed to knee-jerk decision-making. If the opposite is true all the
human effort since the Renaissance appears to have been for nought and
it looks like mud huts all round, with people asking about exactly the
best quantiy of water to soil is best for mud bricks.

John Schmitt

"Matt" wrote in message
...
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

I like pigeons. I like their noise. They're beautiful. They're not as
filthy
as humans. Their droppings are the best fertiliser ever.

Must be some very mucky humans you are acquainted with!

They're everywhere. They drop litter, get drunk and vomit and urinate
wherever they are when they've lost control of themselves (for fun, I
understand). They drop cigarette ash out of car windows, empty ashtrays in
gutters and eject chewing gum on pavements. They spray walls and have, to my
eye, ugly gardens. They swear and spit - have you seen a football match
lately? They don't wash themselves or their clothes so smell of sweat, some
don't brush their teeth and have offensive breath. Many have infectious or
contagious diseases. They park cars on pavements, obstructing access for
pedestrians. They make awful noises in and out of their cars and think it's
clever to show their lack of vocabulary. That's just a start.

I must admit it's mostly boys and men who do these - and other - things but
some women do too. If you say you've never seen any of these I don't believe
you.

All the crap
that drops on my back lawn below where the filthy buggers

I rest my case.

Its tempting to get a mate round with his shotgun and do a vertical
discharge right up the tree - I think we might be just ok legally but
it won't half scare the neighbours ;-)

Oh, wouldn't that be fun :-)

Then take out the Magpies and
the Crows and we might end up with proper sized birds in the garden
again.

Nature abhors a vacuum.No matter how many birds you kill there'll be others
to take their place.

If it were as easy as killing the ones which can be seen farmers would have
no problems, would they?

I do wonder what you mean by 'proper sized birds' though.

Mary

--

"dave" wrote in message
...

I like pigeons.
Yopu poor thing - seek help seek help.

From you?


I like their noise.

"Noise" - yes that the word for it.

That was the word used by the poster. If I'd paraphrased he might not have
understood.

I take it you don't do much thinking or
you'd realise what a horrible distraction they are.

Can't you multi-task?

They're beautiful.
They're not.

You haven't looked closely at the variety of their colouring or you wouldn't
say that.

They're not as filthy
as humans.

Just 'cos something's filthier it's much of a case though is it!

It would be a case for shooting humans.

Their droppings are the best fertiliser ever.
That must be while our local council's just sent a note out asking people
NOT to
feed PIGeons becuase they are breeding to excess and are disease carriers.

That's nothing to do with the fertilising properties of their droppings.

Is your local council the fount of all knowledge on pigeons?

Just because a
famous author makes comments doesn't make them true.

Doesn't make it false either. 'twas a light hearted comment.

Certainly light-weight.

I hope that those people who kill them also eat them, they're delicious.


Awww don't tell me you eat those nice coo cooo birdies! Horrible thing to
do.

You don't eat meat?


If
they're left to rot on the ground they cause far more problems than when
they were alive.

Depends where I suppose.

Not at all. Microbes, insects and carrion will all take time to deal with
the carcase, in the meantime I don'tthink you'd like what's happening to it.


If pigeons are the worst problem you'll ever have in your life you'll be
very fortunate.

Now did I say they were the worse problem.

Worse than what?

Why do simple folk always take a
comment, add something to it, and then attibute it to as if it was said in
the
first place.

I didn't, you said:

"Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid cooing
sounds, their filthy habits... "

But it's the simple minded among us who don't complicate matters.

Ah well, enough fun for one day.

Ah! So the pigeons have given you the means of some fun.

Mary

"Matt" wrote in message
...
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away
with
no previous experience?

What do you think sat nav is for? Some women can even navigate using
it ;-)

sigh

"with no previous experience"



--

"John Schmitt" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:


How do you know what they seem to think?

By reading on the subject. My curiosity seems to know few bounds.

References, please. And authority on how the writers know what they seem to
think.


One of these days, I must try it in a large square full of pigeons.

Oh, what a big man you'll be then!

I am interested how far the effect will propagate. Curiosity again. Must
but a box of crow scarers as part of the experiment. 11th commandment
applies.

Crowscarers have limited usefulness. Ask an arable farmer.

So you're playing it indefinitely? Does that make you stupid, with a
little capacity for learning?

More live the fact I have favorite films and places. Just because I have
eaten a particular dish seems not to be a reason to repeat the excersise.

I don't understand that sentence.

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away
with no previous experience?

Of course you can't. Does that make you stupid?

Of course I *can*. North is easily found and folowed by a number of
methods. There is this thing called the sun, which reliably shows and
tracking the shadow of a stick gives it away. Assuming my watch is with
me, this can also be used to find North and indeed which hemisphere I am
in . It also helps with latitude. A magnetic compass is useful, assuming
the capsule is balanced for the correct latitudes, although within a
couple of thousand miles of the magnetic poles it is unreliable. The old
polar explorers used sextants for navigation. At night, of course, you can
use a star fix to navigate. These days, I have become lazy and own a GPS
unit. Start walking and an arrow points to your selected destination.
Should I wish to visit my brother's old address, it is at 40 46' 43.0"N 73
59' 18.2"W It is a bit of a swim.

You're using previous experience as well as artificial aids. A pigeon
doesn't even need a stick.

To say that any other creature is stupid because it doesn't behave like
you is irrational.

There seems to a fairly strong case for evidence-based reasoning, as
opposed to knee-jerk decision-making.

But knee jerking is what most people seem to be doing ... they don't like a
pigeon's call so their reaction is to hate everything about the bird and
want to kill it.

If the opposite is true all the human effort since the Renaissance

Since the Renaissance?

appears to have been for nought and it looks like mud huts all round, with
people asking about exactly the best quantiy of water to soil is best for
mud bricks.

I think your history of humankind is as weak as your natural history.

Mary

"Rob Morley" wrote in message
t...
In article , "John Schmitt" John49
@mdx.ac.uk says...


dave wrote:
Does anyone hate pigeons more that I do? Impossible! Their stupid
cooing sounds,
their filthy habits...

Woody Allen describes them as "rats with wings".

I like rats too :-)

They have their place in theGreat Scheme ofThings..

Mary

"Owain" wrote in message
. ..
Vera wrote:
As it happens I don't mind pigeons too much - the birds I hate are
bloody magpies!

I don't mind magpies as long as there are two of them :-)

I dislike gulls. They used to be a nice characteristic of the seaside but
now they've moved into towns they seem to have got a lot more aggressive.

I've had no experience of that, they seem to be particularly active where
people drop food.

Mary

Owain

Mary Fisher wrote:

... I'm not too
sure if it's a good idea to eat town pigeons.

They're descended from rock doves which were bred for food - in dovecotes.
Why wouldn't be a good idea to eat them?

What's living, mutated & chemical inside the town pigeon is a bit of a
worry. If they were generally acknowledged as safe to eat, the streets
of London would be overrun with 'Kentucky Fried Pigeon' shops.

And I'd be a customer, especially after the Pub :-)

--
Adrian C

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 15:15:30 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

They're everywhere. They drop litter, get drunk and vomit and urinate
wherever they are when they've lost control of themselves (for fun, I
understand).
The cat next door isn't too selective about where it urinates. It also
defecates. I've never seen a mucky human defecate in the street.
Now if that particular cat were drunk, it would provide a lot of
entertainment! :-)

They don't wash themselves or their clothes so smell of sweat, some
don't brush their teeth and have offensive breath. Many have infectious or
contagious diseases.
People seldom smell worse than their dogs. Why should they brush their
teeth? It's not natural. No other species does it. You're more likely
to catch an infectious disease from a pigeon than from one of these
people.

They make awful noises in and out of their cars and think it's
clever to show their lack of vocabulary. That's just a start.

Magpies, crows and pigeons make awful noises anywhere!

I must admit it's mostly boys and men who do these - and other - things but
some women do too. If you say you've never seen any of these I don't believe
you.

In birds, its the females who make the most noise. (And in some groups
of humans too!)


Nature abhors a vacuum.No matter how many birds you kill there'll be others
to take their place.

Yes but nicer ones. Or maybe nastier ones. Consider the plight of the
red squirrel.

I do wonder what you mean by 'proper sized birds' though.

tits.

Mr F.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 15:29:16 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
But knee jerking is what most people seem to be doing ... they don't like a
pigeon's call so their reaction is to hate everything about the bird and
want to kill it.

Seems eminently reasonable to me! :-)

Mr F.

"Mary Fisher" wrote:

I do wonder what you mean by 'proper sized birds' though.

Anything blackbird size and below would be nice - there were loads
around until about five years ago when the magpies arrived, if
anything the pigeons are a bit of a change - its just they always
perch on exactly the same branch and hence their deposit lands in the
same place.

Oh and I never ever drop litter except for in my own dustbin - which
is soon to be filled with lead impregnated manky pigeons!


--

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 15:33:32 +0100, Adrian C wrote:


What's living, mutated & chemical inside the town pigeon is a bit of a
worry. If they were generally acknowledged as safe to eat, the streets
of London would be overrun with 'Kentucky Fried Pigeon' shops.


Indeed. If you have ever "peeled" a pigeon (preferably a dead one) to
extract the breasts then you will know that you often end up getting
some of the stuff that was in the crop onto the flesh. I don't want
bits of McDonalds nor part digested dog ends on my fried pigeon! :-)

Mr F.

On 17 Aug 2005, Adrian C wrote that Mary Fisher wrote that Mr Fizzion
wrote:

... I'm not too sure if it's a good idea to eat town pigeons.

They're descended from rock doves which were bred for food - in
dovecotes. Why wouldn't be a good idea to eat them?

What's living, mutated & chemical inside the town pigeon is a bit
of a worry. If they were generally acknowledged as safe to eat,
the streets of London would be overrun with 'Kentucky Fried
Pigeon' shops.

You mean that's not what those restaurants sell?

Live and learn....

--
Cheers,
Harvey

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:24:54 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:



You've seen the size of pigeon's brain then?

Or - more relevantly - compared it, size for size, with a human brain?

A human brain is about 1000 times the size of a pigeon brain.
A magpie brain is about 5 times the size of a pigeon brain.

An Arab can live for a whole year on one grain of rice.

--
Warning: Do not look directly into laser with remaining eye.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:24:54 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Vera" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:55:20 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Can you navigate back to your house if let loose hundreds of miles away
with
no previous experience?


Of course you can't. Does that make you stupid?

I am one of the clever ones who can

a) read signposts
b) Ask for directions to the nearest train station
c) Recognise a phone box from a fair distance away
d) Work a mobile phone
e) Read a map
f) hail a taxi

All those need previous experience, which I specified. A pigeon doesn't do
any of those.

You don't know much about pigeons do you? If a pigeon has no
experience of a place it can't deliberately find it. Homing pigeons
have to be trained to return.

I'd stick to bees if I were you.

--
Warning: Do not look directly into laser with remaining eye.

"Mr Fizzion" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 15:15:30 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

They're everywhere. They drop litter, get drunk and vomit and urinate
wherever they are when they've lost control of themselves (for fun, I
understand).
The cat next door isn't too selective about where it urinates. It also
defecates. I've never seen a mucky human defecate in the street.
Now if that particular cat were drunk, it would provide a lot of
entertainment! :-)

They don't wash themselves or their clothes so smell of sweat, some
don't brush their teeth and have offensive breath. Many have infectious or
contagious diseases.
People seldom smell worse than their dogs.

I know. I don't like dogs.I think I'll get my pal with his gun.

Why should they brush their
teeth? It's not natural.

Nor is wearing trousers.

No other species does it.

They don't wear trousers either.

You're more likely
to catch an infectious disease from a pigeon than from one of these
people.

Not true.


They make awful noises in and out of their cars and think it's
clever to show their lack of vocabulary. That's just a start.

Magpies, crows and pigeons make awful noises anywhere!

But they're natural noises- to use your argument.

I must admit it's mostly boys and men who do these - and other - things
but
some women do too. If you say you've never seen any of these I don't
believe
you.

In birds, its the females who make the most noise.

You're wrong.

(And in some groups
of humans too!)

Yes. Where's my pal's number ... ?



Nature abhors a vacuum.No matter how many birds you kill there'll be
others
to take their place.

Yes but nicer ones. Or maybe nastier ones.

You'd get the same species. Pigeons, magpies ... they're sucessful. There
used to be rewards for dead magpies, it didn't get rid of them.

Consider the plight of the
red squirrel.

I don't understand your argument.

I do wonder what you mean by 'proper sized birds' though.

tits.

I don't like tits. They chew the blossom off my runner beans, apple tree
and pear tree, given the chance. They are destructive little birds,
although they are very attractive to look at. I wouldn't hurt them but
cannot say I am a fan.

Mary

"Matt" wrote in message
...
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

I do wonder what you mean by 'proper sized birds' though.

Anything blackbird size and below would be nice - there were loads
around until about five years ago when the magpies arrived, if
anything the pigeons are a bit of a change - its just they always
perch on exactly the same branch and hence their deposit lands in the
same place.

Cut off the branch.


Oh and I never ever drop litter except for in my own dustbin - which
is soon to be filled with lead impregnated manky pigeons!

I didn't accuse anybody here of dropping litter but nobody's refuted that
that's what a lot of people do.

Mary


--

"Vera" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:24:54 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:



You've seen the size of pigeon's brain then?

Or - more relevantly - compared it, size for size, with a human brain?

A human brain is about 1000 times the size of a pigeon brain.
A magpie brain is about 5 times the size of a pigeon brain.

An Arab can live for a whole year on one grain of rice.

You've been Googling again. Serves you right.

--
Warning: Do not look directly into laser with remaining eye.