LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Let undeservedly maligned pigeons be

OPINION:

Thanks for the interesting, albeit tragic, Suzanne Fields column about the loss of passenger pigeons (“A bird’s-eye view of extinction,” Web, Sept. 3). Pigeons are among the most maligned urban wildlife; people trap them, poison them and even force them into endurance races so that the humans involved can win prizes and money.

It’s hard to understand how anyone can find fault with these beautiful, fascinating birds. Pigeons are smart and personable. Harvard psychologists determined that pigeons can identify people not only by how they look, but how they behave, and Brown University researchers found that pigeons can quite easily learn to recognize each of the 26 letters of the English alphabet.

Pigeons are also models of fidelity. They mate for life, and both parents are devoted to, and take turns in caring for, their young.

Pigeons bring beauty to our concrete jungles and demand so little in return. They deserve respect and to be left in peace.

JENNIFER O’CONNOR

Staff writer

PETA Foundation

Norfolk, Va.