C U LT U R A
P IG E O N S
W H A T T H E H A T E R S (S O E V E R Y O N E ) D O N ’T K N O W V E R O N IC A G U A R IS C O , 2 D
The wide variety of species on Earth is breathtaking, especially if we remember that they all originated from a unique one. However, one graceful creature rises above the rest, definitely a king among birds: the noble pigeon. You likely consider it good only for pooping on statues: since I’m writing an article about it, you would imagine that it’s not all (yeah, stay sure I’m not so crazy). In the pretty wellknown “On the Origin of Species”, Charles Darwin presented an idea that has turned science on its head. By the way, can you guess the animal he chose as his very first example in Chapter 1? It wasn’t the tortoise, the finch, or even the giant E t C e t e r a M a jo r a n a
fossil armadillo he found during his journeys. He chose pigeons! These are the birds that got Darwin’s attention because underneath all that feathery fashion, they are a species that has evolved a lot. Thousands of years before they were eating old hotdogs buns out of the trash, these birds were found on seaside cliffs: as soon as cities sprang up they moved in because to a pigeon a building is just a cliff with better architecture. They are impressively suited to city life, on the other hand, we shouldn’t forget they have could conquer urban areas since we brought them there. The reason? We liked feeding them, but to 28
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