Urban pigeons, often seen as a pain, may be simply misunderstood

Feral pigeons are often descended from domestic birds – but find few fans when they are wild. Photo: dpa-mag/dpa-Zentralbild/Patrick Pleul

Nesting on balconies, fouling buildings with their droppings and scavenging for food: It is no wonder people don’t like pigeons, calling them a public nuisance and complaining about their rampant breeding.

But some argue that maybe we just don’t get the birds – and perhaps we are the problem.