I just loved this photograph of Agnes thoughtfully watching birds near San Francisco's soaring Palace of Fine Arts. Since coming here, we have been amazed by how tame and fearless the birds are. Pigeons and starlings, blackbirds and swans approach undaunted, flocking round every outdoor cafe and picnic area. They are used to being fed, of course, but I like to think St. Francis' influence has something to do with it as well.
We have noticed something troubling about the birds though. Many of them, of all types, have foot injuries, often missing toes or hobbling about on one foot. I would be very interested in finding out why this is.
I think the deformities could be due to a number of things - inbreeding, physical damage caused by getting their toes or feet caught in rubbish in the water, pollutants in the water causing infection, and disease. Pigeons and other city birds are lovely to look at and charming to feed, but they are absolutely rife with disease. It's terribly sad, but with so many people to feed them they have a better chance of survival.
Posted by: patience | July 26, 2007 at 04:49 PM
I'm not sure why they would be injured or have the deformities but the picture is gorgeous.
Posted by: Theresa ♥ | July 26, 2007 at 08:37 PM
I found some suggested answers here:
http://ask.metafilter.com/64855/Pigeon-Toes
Seems like the most likely explanation is a staph infection.
Posted by: Alice Gunther | July 26, 2007 at 11:54 PM