pigeon pinups - marlena's...

1/31/2014 A Look At New York Pigeons by Andrew Garn -- New York Magazine http://nymag.com/news/features/pigeons-2014-2/#print 1/3 I (Photo: Andrew Garn) Pigeon Pinups The pictures here are of actual New York pigeons, in all their unlikely splendor. By Rebecca Milzoff Published Jan 26, 2014 n 2008, photographer Andrew Garn was looking for a new subject, and “pigeons just seemed sort of unexplored, like, why not?” Over the next four years, he photographed about 5,000 of them at coops, homes, and the Wild Bird Fund, a rescue center. Up close, he found, “they’re really quite beautiful.” (An exhibit of his photographs is up at OK Harris through March 1.) As it turns out, they’re also surprisingly complex. European settlers brought pigeons to North America in the early 1600s, to be kept in coops as a readily available food source. The birds are all part of the same species, Columba livia, though their colors and feather patterns vary widely. They’re “one of the most maneuverable birds in the world,” Garn says, agile enough to fly off on a dime—an adaptation likely going back to their origin on cliffsides, with no protection against predators. (They’re not so well prepared for extreme cold, however, which is why, in recent weeks, the Fund has seen a steep increase in the number of sick and dying in the city.) Their peripheral vision is extraordinary, as is their hearing. And they’re compassionate by design—both males and females secrete milk, and both will usually take in an abandoned baby. As for those babies, they’re well hidden within nests tucked into the nooks of city buildings, which is why, as has been noted, we never see them. Garn also learned the less well-documented qualities of the birds: They like to be pet and held, and have a tendency to become bathed in grease under hot-dog stands.

Upload: others

Post on 04-Aug-2020

0 views

Category:

Documents

0 download

Report

Download

Embed Size (px):

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Pigeon Pinups - Marlena's Humanitiesmarlenan.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/5/2/22524574/a_look_at...Pigeon Pinups The pictures here are of actual New York pigeons, in all their unlikely splendor

1/31/2014 A Look At New York Pigeons by Andrew Garn -- New York Magazine

http://nymag.com/news/features/pigeons-2014-2/#print 1/3

(Photo: Andrew Garn)

Pigeon PinupsThe pictures here are of actual New York pigeons, in all their unlikelysplendor.By Rebecca Milzoff Published Jan 26, 2014

n 2008, photographer AndrewGarn was looking for a new

subject, and “pigeons just seemed sortof unexplored, like, why not?” Overthe next four years, he photographedabout 5,000 of them at coops, homes,and the Wild Bird Fund, a rescuecenter. Up close, he found, “they’rereally quite beautiful.” (An exhibit ofhis photographs is up at OK Harristhrough March 1.)

As it turns out, they’re alsosurprisingly complex. Europeansettlers brought pigeons to North

America in the early 1600s, to be kept in coops as a readily available food source.The birds are all part of the same species, Columba livia, though their colors andfeather patterns vary widely. They’re “one of the most maneuverable birds in theworld,” Garn says, agile enough to fly off on a dime—an adaptation likely goingback to their origin on cliffsides, with no protection against predators. (They’re notso well prepared for extreme cold, however, which is why, in recent weeks, theFund has seen a steep increase in the number of sick and dying in the city.) Theirperipheral vision is extraordinary, as is their hearing. And they’re compassionateby design—both males and females secrete milk, and both will usually take in anabandoned baby. As for those babies, they’re well hidden within nests tucked intothe nooks of city buildings, which is why, as has been noted, we never see them.

Garn also learned the less well-documented qualities of the birds: They like to bepet and held, and have a tendency to become bathed in grease under hot-dogstands.

http://nymag.com/

http://nymag.com/nymag/10716

http://www.okharris.com/