Guys, This is what the biginning of a Race looks like. That is a single truck. Releasing 2000 pigeons.
There is another one just like it that can clearly be seen behind it in the video.
This is one race. Out of several regional races through out the country.
That take place every few months, depending on how active the club is.
All of these are the birds that consistently made it back *first* from their individual breeders’ daily practice flights with kits of 5-20.
How many of you who rescue pigeons have had homing pigeons crash out hungry?
How many of you have seen homers stop to rest, but even after recovering refuse to leave?
This is what starts feral flocks, and what increases their numbers even in places where feeding them is banned.
60 years of those lucky few who survive to start feral flocks getting constant infusions of new blood and being basically ignored is why ferals have such an overwhelmingly large population.
They are NOT wildlife.
They are abandoned strays and the children and grandchildren of abandoned strays.
Eurasian Collared Doves are nonnative wildlife.They are not even remotely domesticated, and have never been.
The pigeons in North America had been domesticated for thousands of years before they were brought over.
Homers were primarily employed for government and military use as messengers, supplemented by private fanciers, who still make an actual living on the pot from big enough races.
Immigrants brought over meat breeds and exhibition birds (tumblers and rollers)
Wealthy Europeans brought over Exhibition breeds for shows, because at the time you had to be wealthy to have livestock with no purpose but to look unusual.
You cannot accurately call their homeless descendants wildlife any more than you can call the packs of Mexican Street dogs (only prevented in the US by the ubiquity of animal shelters) wolves.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
today's bird 