By LISA SPEAR
Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Throughout history, pigeons, bred
by humans to live on rooftops or backyard lofts, have flown hundreds of miles
to find their way home.
People have raised pigeons to
race them, like thoroughbreds, paying thousands of dollars for a bird. Some say
these creatures are able to use the Earth’s gravitational pull to find their
way back to where they belong. Others say they use the direction of the sun or
the smell of the air to navigate.
Whatever the reason for their
keen sense of direction, pigeons have formed a strong bond with the humans who
keep them, and in some cases have become part of the family.
“They are actually very loving,”
says Heather Truelove, who lives in Belchertown with her twin 11-year-old
daughters and their 11 pigeons.
“You think of pigeons as being
sky rats in cities, but they are very responsive and they seem to enjoy being
touched and talked to.”
As she talks she is cradling one
of her birds, who lives in a 7-foot high by 3-foot wide loft in the
backyard. The pigeon looks as if it is roosting on her stomach as she leans
back, relaxing on her back porch, stroking the bird’s back feathers. If
properly cared for, this pigeon will live well into its teen years.
One of her daughters, Skylar
Park, is curled up next to her in a hammock chair with the hood of her sweater
pulled over her head. A pigeon is inside snuggled next to her cheek. A
third bird is loitering on her sister Kaitlyn Park’s shoulder.
“They are soft and cuddly,”
Skylar says.
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