When Dr Jon Esposito– vet, pigeon expert, above all old friend, called this evening from El Paso, I had an odd apprehension, all too well confirmed in his first sentence: “Shannon just died– they found him in his pigeon loft, yesterday”. One the one hand, it was an appropriate way to go, almost comedically perfect …
Tag: Pigeons
Hans Windgassen, Pigeon Impressionist
The late Hans Windgassen, Pennsylvania artist and lifetime pigeon fancier, was one of the most interesting thinkers–no, scratch that, we were all interesting thinkers!– in our pigeon rearing art and genetics group. He visited once, but we kept up a constant correspondence, and the genes of pigeons he sent– our tastes were similar– live on …
Pigeons
The rarest living pigeon, the tooth- billed, has been photographed in Samoa. It is better than the previous image, from Wiki, though still hard to interpret. These are the only photos, ever, as far as I know. I would be happy to know I was wrong. Here is a nice Gould, not from life. Its …
Model
A scientifically grounded anatomical artist must be innovative and intrepid. Katrina van Grouw’s model for the pouter pigeon in her ten- star Unfeathered Bird and the finished drawing.
Almaty Pigeons
Most readers will know that I love pigeons; some may know I am particularly interested in where domestic species come from, with emphasis on dogs and pigeons. The most pigeon – mad country I know is Turkey, which could be seen as a major source for western breeds. But the Turks say their breeds came …
Gratuitous Pigeon Photos
Handsome birds, “Lebanons”. I saw their like in Turkey a few years ago. Anyone know where I can find a pair or two for less than $250? Stupid regs make all imported birds impossibly expensive for all but the rich, and cause hoarding and inbreeding depression in the tiny gene pools that exist in the …
Pigeons vs Humaniacs
Chris Landauer of Border Wars sent me a note a couple of weeks ago on the ARista’s war on pigeon racing. Since then I have been roaming the Internet, too busy and too pissed off to to write a calm essay on the kind of people who would persecute old men, some of them who …
Passenger Pigeons # 1
Trying something new here. I have either three or four new possible books on deck, though how I will find energy to do them all is a… challenge. One is natural history and ornithology, one a novel, long set -aside, and I am not sure I want to say more about either it or the …
“Carrier” Pigeons and Pigeon Paraphernalia
So- called Carrier, ie messenger pigeons (sophisticated bird folks know they are Racing Homers, not the heavily wattled show bird of that name) have been in the news a lot lately. Reid sent this article about a lost WW II messenger from the legendary Code and cryptography center Bletchley Park discovered in an English chimney; …
Spanish Pigeon Sport!
La Suelta: a female with a marked feather is turned out with a pack of gaudily- painted males, flying pouters of the “Modern Deportivo” breed, who are… a bit hyper- macho; examples below. The one who seduces her home wins- it takes days. Big money prizes, state involvement– Suelta madness!