A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird
Part field guide, part history, part ornithology primer, and altogether fun.

Fact: Pigeons are amazing, and until recently, humans adored them. We’ve kept them as pets, held pigeon beauty contests, raced them, used them to carry messages over battlefields, harvested their poop to fertilize our crops—and cooked them in gourmet dishes. Now, with The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, readers can rediscover the wonder. Equal parts illustrated field guide and quirky history, it covers behavior: Why they coo; how they flock; how they preen, kiss, and mate (monogamously); and how they raise their young (on chunky pigeon milk). Anatomy and identification, from Birmingham Roller to the American Giant Runt to the Scandaroon. Birder issues, like what to do if you find a baby pigeon stranded in the park. And our lively shared story together, including all the things we’ve taught them—Ping-Pong, for example. “Rats with wings?” Think again.
Pigeons coo, peck and nest all over the world, yet most of us treat them with indifference or disdain. So Rosemary Mosco, a bird-lover, science communicator, writer, and cartoonist (and co-author of The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid) is here to give the pigeon's image a makeover, and to help every town- and city-dweller get closer to nature by discovering the joys of birding through pigeon-watching.
 
"1138453155"
A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird
Part field guide, part history, part ornithology primer, and altogether fun.

Fact: Pigeons are amazing, and until recently, humans adored them. We’ve kept them as pets, held pigeon beauty contests, raced them, used them to carry messages over battlefields, harvested their poop to fertilize our crops—and cooked them in gourmet dishes. Now, with The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, readers can rediscover the wonder. Equal parts illustrated field guide and quirky history, it covers behavior: Why they coo; how they flock; how they preen, kiss, and mate (monogamously); and how they raise their young (on chunky pigeon milk). Anatomy and identification, from Birmingham Roller to the American Giant Runt to the Scandaroon. Birder issues, like what to do if you find a baby pigeon stranded in the park. And our lively shared story together, including all the things we’ve taught them—Ping-Pong, for example. “Rats with wings?” Think again.
Pigeons coo, peck and nest all over the world, yet most of us treat them with indifference or disdain. So Rosemary Mosco, a bird-lover, science communicator, writer, and cartoonist (and co-author of The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid) is here to give the pigeon's image a makeover, and to help every town- and city-dweller get closer to nature by discovering the joys of birding through pigeon-watching.
 
9.99 In Stock
A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird

by Rosemary Mosco
A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird

by Rosemary Mosco

eBook

$9.99 

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Overview

Part field guide, part history, part ornithology primer, and altogether fun.

Fact: Pigeons are amazing, and until recently, humans adored them. We’ve kept them as pets, held pigeon beauty contests, raced them, used them to carry messages over battlefields, harvested their poop to fertilize our crops—and cooked them in gourmet dishes. Now, with The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, readers can rediscover the wonder. Equal parts illustrated field guide and quirky history, it covers behavior: Why they coo; how they flock; how they preen, kiss, and mate (monogamously); and how they raise their young (on chunky pigeon milk). Anatomy and identification, from Birmingham Roller to the American Giant Runt to the Scandaroon. Birder issues, like what to do if you find a baby pigeon stranded in the park. And our lively shared story together, including all the things we’ve taught them—Ping-Pong, for example. “Rats with wings?” Think again.
Pigeons coo, peck and nest all over the world, yet most of us treat them with indifference or disdain. So Rosemary Mosco, a bird-lover, science communicator, writer, and cartoonist (and co-author of The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid) is here to give the pigeon's image a makeover, and to help every town- and city-dweller get closer to nature by discovering the joys of birding through pigeon-watching.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781523515578
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Publication date: 10/26/2021
Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format: eBook
Pages: 240
Sales rank: 792,657
File size: 27 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Rosemary Mosco is a science communicator, acclaimed cartoonist, and speaker on all things bird. She has written and drawn for The New York Times, Audubon, and elsewhere, and she is the author of A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching and co-author ofTheAtlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide for the World’s Most Adventurous Kid. She lives in Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Introduction Why Watch Pigeons? 1

Part 1 Basic Pigeonology

Why Pigeons Are Dinosaurs, Doves, and Puppies 9

Part 2 The Passion and The Poop

A History of Pigeons and People 27

Part 3 Pigeonatomy

From Beak to Cloaca 61

Part 4 Domestic Pigeon Breeds

The Fanciest Flock 87

Part 5 Feral Plumages and Patterns

Spot Them All 103

Part 6 Decoding Pigeon Behavior

Why Is That Pigeon Doing That Thing? 125

Part 7 Pigeon Troubleshooting

How to Stay Healthy and Help Pigeons 185

Extra Credit

Other Birds Worth Watching 201

Conclusion 223

Further Reading 224

Selected References 226

Acknowledgments 231

About The Author 232

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