Dave Nunnallee's point is well-taken. We should appreciate those pigeons
to the max, as they are the largest critters that visit the feeders of most
of us, they are native here, they represent the only wide-ranging wild
pigeon (a virtually worldwide group) in North America, and they *are*
magnificent. Fifty of them at once is awesome. I like watching their
flight displays, which seem to occur in every month from February to
October--typical long breeding season of a pigeon/dove. And their hoots
and the growl they give in flight (listen for it when one is displaying
overhead) are pretty neat, too. And all this from someone who is
emphatically not a columbiphile. The main thing I like about them is that
their heads are tiny, like those of shorebirds.

Dave's quote from the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife is instructive. "...for
which the maintenance of a stable population and surplus for RECREATION may
be affected by habitat loss or change..." Emphasis is mine. That's still
our primary reason for protecting an animal or plant, because it gives us
RECREATION (sport). And I'm afraid now is not the time to lobby to change
the wording from "recreation" to "its own intrinsic value," as it would
just put the species in jeopardy.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416