HYDERABAD: Feral pigeon, the kind seen commonly in the city, is a subspecies of the rock dove and domestic pigeons. “For rock dove, the habitat was the cliff and for domesticated one, it was vents, windowpane balconies, decks, and terraces. Their association with mankind has evolved overages. The high-rise buildings and monuments in Hyderabad serve as artificial cliffs for them to roost,” Secretary of Deccan Birders, M Shafaat Ullah, told TNIE.
Pigeons are the hallmark of heritage sites in Hyderabad city as well. Their omnipresence, however, has become a pest for the sites and monuments. Pigeon droppings rot the stucco work while also soiling the stonework. “The droppings make a mess where pigeons roost,” said an architect working at British Residency, Hyderabad. There is no denying pigeon droppings are unsightly and also difficult to clean.
“Pigeons can be avoided by using these nets. They cannot be killed or relocated as they always come back after some time and most of the heritage buildings in the city have a space for them,” said INTACH, Hyderabad chapter’s convenor, Anuradha Reddy.
Pigeons are granivorous birds and here in the city, they largely rely on the public for their food. “They normally feed in flocks and have become proficient in identifying such spots in open places, on pavements, and at places of worship,” noted Shafaat. Moreover, people who live in large residential apartments feed them and also leave some water outside if the birds were to get thirsty. Availability of excess food and water is a major reason for their rising population, says Shafaat.
However, today, the pigeons are nothing short of an invasive species for Hyderabad which cause diseases and create a nuisance in the everyday life of its residents.
But according to Shafaat, the birds are innocent and it’s not their fault that we as humans engineered our buildings so they can roost easily, nest and take refuge in them. “We brought them here, we bred them, we kept them in the city, we feed them and now we are afraid of them,” Shafaat pointed out.