Combed over and dressed in white, Raju Dewasi, a middle-aged hardware businessman, arrives at the Mussalam Jung Bridge, one of the oldest bridges of Hyderabad, around 10 a.m., later than usual because it was a Sunday.
The lean man grabs a small box of multigrain mix from a shop nearby, removes his leather chappals, and gets ready to feed the pigeons in the vicinity. He joins his palms in prayer to the birds and the sun before paying ₹20 to the grain vendor.
With clockwork precision, Raju then briskly enters the Gaushala (cow shelter) opposite the bridge, where fresh green grass is being unloaded from a mini truck. He feeds the cows behind iron partitions, circumambulates them, and three minutes later, starts his motorcycle to head out.
“Pigeons heal graha peeda (malefic effects of planets). They remove hindrances in business and improve human relationships,” Raju, a resident of Goshamahal area, a few kilometres from the bridge, says. For Raju, who was born and raised in Rajasthan and has made Hyderabad his second home like the many traders, feeding pigeons is a daily ritual.
The common city pigeon, a feral descendant of the Eurasian rock dove, according to the State of India’s Birds-2023 report, is the most thriving bird in India. From 2012 to 2018, its population surged by over 150%. While reduced human activity during the COVID-19 years (2018-2020) caused a temporary dip, recent data shows that feral pigeon numbers have not only bounced back but are now surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Scientists attribute this rapid growth to urbanisation, easy access to food, and habitat abundance in cities, crowding out other bird species.
From spreading allergens through droppings and feathers that cause lung diseases in humans to posing a threat near runways by increasing bird-aircraft collisions, the pigeon has earned a reputation as “an opportunist bird, an urban menace”, according to scientists and clinicians.
Like Raju worships pigeons, N. Vinod Goud reveres them. A techie and pigeon fancier for 14 years, he owns and selectively breeds about 100 homing pigeons, all pedigreed nationally and internationally. His birds are categorised as sprinters, middle-distance flyers, stocks, breeders, and squabs. In his duplex house in Sainikpuri, in the northeast part of Hyderabad, Vinod has built a special pigeon loft with four small rooms, each meshed against pests, fitted with grill-protected exhaust fans, ceiling fans, and mosquito repellents. The pigeons, housed on the terrace, are licensed as pets by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
“All they are fed is 30 grams of all-mix grain, per day, per bird at 8 p.m., and a small measure of grit — a mixture of shell and red stone for better digestion. Care also includes weekly bath in essential bath salts for hygiene, removing skin flakes and allergens, and periodic vitamin and amino tonics for muscle repair and strength,” he explains.
Homing pigeons are visibly distinct, showing a sleek symmetry and structure with slender necks, supple and lustrous feathers, and strong plumage. A life ring on their leg for identification and striking eyes with the iris colour ranging from yellow to deep orange, reddish-brown, and pearl white add intensity and hint at their mysterious navigational skills. While homing pigeons have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years, feral pigeons typically live up to five years.
The oldest bird in Vinod’s loft is a 12-year-old Indian homer. His champion pigeon, also an Indian homer, was bred by him and returned first in the 500-km category when liberated in Karanji, Maharashtra, in 2020.
“If my son has a fever, my wife or the grandparents take care of him. But if anything is to happen to the pigeons, I am their only parent,” he says, remembering the death of his birds. Past lessons are the reason for his obsession with cleanliness as well as bird and personal hygiene.
The 38-year-old also recollects the tragic death of fellow pigeon fancier Shaik Nissar, who suspectedly succumbed to bird fancier’s lung disease. “We club members would hear his laboured breathing and his difficulty in speaking. He was close with the birds; he would literally have birds in his bedroom or sleep in the loft,” he says.
‘Smart, strong and sacred’
According to Ashutosh Singh, scientist (avian physiology and genetics) at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Tamil Nadu, the strong features of pigeons are an evolutionary adaptation. Pigeons can taste, differentiate between food types, have excellent vision, memory and navigation skills.
“It is more likely that feral pigeons would choose processed food such as chips, bread and biscuits over grain, which is heavier, takes time for digestion and increases its weight during flight. They eat often, taking advantage of free food availability, because of its energy requirement for flight,” he explains.
Singh also refers to the study on feeding behaviour of pigeons conducted by R.M. Little of FitzPatrick Institute in 1993, published in the South African Journal of Zoology: “Crop (section of Oesophagus in pigeon digestive system to store food for later digestion) contents examined in 48 rock pigeons and 32 feral rock pigeons showed that 88% ferals fed on processed cereals and 100% rock pigeons fed on whole wheat foraged from stubble. Both the flock of birds used to travel 15-20 km from roosting sites in Cape Town to farmlands to feed, but they separated at the farms to choose their food type.” The study examined their behaviours for two austral summers.
Given the drastic rise in population of feral pigeons and rampant overfeeding in cities — earning them the nickname “rats with wings” — researchers Dirk H.R. Spennemann and Maggie J. Watson’s study on the dietary habits and excreta of urban pigeons at the Institute for Land, Water and Society: Charles Sturt University, Australia, explain more about the bird: “Pigeons store large quantities of food in their crops and need only a few minutes to fill it. They digest the majority of their food stored in the crop while resting during the dark periods, primarily to maintain their thermocontrol through shivering. The total daily mass of excreta is related to volume of food consumed and it ranges from 11 gm to 26 gm within a 24-hour period. A single pigeon can generate upto 12 kg excreta per year”.
Behaviourally, feral pigeons were found to be: “highly opportunistic flock feeders, have a producer/scrouger dynamic — certain birds have the skill to find food while some are watching for signs that others have found food. They defecate before taking off as part of the fit-for-flight hypothesis”.
Feral pigeons, depending on food availability and climate, can breed round the year, typically laying two eggs per clutch with an incubation period of 18 days.
But unlike science, it is often faith that dictates actions.
According to Bombay Natural History Society ENVIS (Environmental Information System) Centre on Avian Ecology, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, pigeon/ dove is one of the 12 sacred birds of India: “It is said that Shiva and Parvati live in the form of a male and female dove called Kapoteshvara and Kapoteshvari respectively in the Amarnath Cave.” On the list in the ‘kids centre’, on bnhsenvis.nic.in, it is also the only ‘sacred bird’ without its scientific name (Columba livia) mentioned.
Both the Bible and the Quran contain multiple references to birds, with pigeons symbolising peace, purity, harmlessness, humility, and creation, often appearing in the context of sacrifice and offering.
“Pigeons are abundant in Mecca (the holiest site in Islam) too. It is said that God gave them a special status; the relationship between the visitors and pigeons at masjids and dargahs is very old and a tradition now,” says city-based fancier Iqbal Khan.
He believes one of the reasons that many pigeon fanciers come from the Muslim community is that their holy scripture emphasises mercy and compassion towards all living creatures. He also notes that the city’s tradition of kabutarbazi (pigeon keeping and fancying) as a hobby plays a significant role in fostering this early influence.
Urban pests and disruptors
From a public health perspective, scientists strongly consider pigeons “problem animals and urban pests.”
While Hypersensitive Pneumonitis (HP) and Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD), a group of diseases which cause lung fibrosis, are most common among pigeon breeders, anyone exposed to allergens from pigeons’ feathers and droppings is at risk. A 2016 study conducted in 19 Indian cities between 2012 and 2015, covering 1,084 patients, found that 47.3% had hypersensitive pneumonitis, making it the most common new-onset ILD in the country.
Pigeons and their droppings are reservoirs for Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungus that causes infections when fungal spores are inhaled, as well as Candida and other zoonotic yeasts that infect the oropharyngeal cavity, gastrointestinal tract, vaginal tract, and skin.
A 2023 study by the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute in Delhi highlighted that HP (Hypersensitive Pneumonitis) is a common form of ILD even in individuals without occupational exposure. In one case, about 17% of 500 asthmatics tested showed pigeon antigen reactivity, potentially contributing to the rise in asthma cases in inner-city areas.
Hyderabad-based clinician Sharanya Kumar, a senior consultant in heart and lung transplant, says chronic HP gradually leads to lung fibrosis. “It starts with dry cough, weakness, discomfort in chest and breathlessness. Its prognosis is poor and can be detected and treated only after Computed Tomography of the chest and lung biopsy,” he says.
In November 2018, Principal Scientist at SACON, P. Pramod with his team, at the request of GMR Hyderabad Aviation Limited, studied bird-strike hazard in and around the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, including the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) located within it.
“The blue rock pigeon and Red-wattled lapwing were observed to be the dominant species close to the runway. The levels of diversity and bird activity in the built-up area of SEZ are very low. However, blue rock pigeons were found to be roosting on the roof of the main building of the company,” the March-July study in the 10-km radius of the airport stated.
“Bird strikes are high risk. They can break the windshields and cause emergencies, enter the aircraft’s engine and disrupt the performance, apart from the huge costs. Flight delays and cancellations are common,” he explains.
A comparative analysis of wildlife collisions with aircraft in India (1966-2018), published by the Defence Life Science Journal in 2020, revealed that pigeons caused 32 strikes between 2010 and 2018. In the same period, Black Kites caused the most strikes (77), followed by Swifts (69). Initially, in the 1980s, identifying the species was considered the solution to mitigating wildlife strikes, which posed serious economic and safety risks to aviation. However, 20 years later, the number of species involved has almost doubled, the study noted.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 2022 annual report, a total of 2,077 wildlife strikes were recorded across the industry.
Pramod, also the Head of Nature Education at SACON, warns that overfeeding pigeons, which artificially boosts their population, poses a threat to both their natural habitat and human population. While he advises authorities on best practices to mitigate bird-aircraft collisions, he emphasises that the most effective way for the public to keep pigeons away is to stop feeding them.
He is currently leading bird hazard studies at eight airports across the country.
The protein bridge
Back on the Mussalam Jung Bridge, rodents also emerge from the crevices of the old structure to nibble on the grain scattered for pigeons.
Built between 1894 and 1901, the bridge was inaugurated by the then Nizam, who described it as “a handsome and useful structure”.
Now colloquially referred to as the ‘Muslim Bridge’, the 250-metre stretch, overlooking the Telangana High Court and towers above the Musi River, serves as a carpet of multigrains for pigeons and a mosaic of leftovers for rodents.
“Who will feed them if we don’t? It is the doctors that are spreading diseases by just controlling them and not eradicating, and not these pigeons. Only Ayurveda can eradicate diseases,” argues a middle-aged man in a silk dhoti and photochromic glasses on the bridge. He had just brought a five-kg bag of phutana dal to feed pigeons and identifies himself as Sharma.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, provides for “destruction of vermin, birds or animals causing danger or nuisance, and the confinement or destruction of stray dogs”.
However, activists note that the GHMC’s campaign concerning pigeons has not been sustainable. One notable effort involved trapping around 500 pigeons from the Moazzam Jahi Market in 2019 and releasing them into Srisailam Forest. The market, due to its heritage value, was declared a no-feeding zone and underwent renovation at a cost of ₹15 crore.
The Pigeon Welfare Association of Hyderabad, located in Koti, is another case in point. Established in 1941, the Kimtee Prem Tower kabutarkhaana, maintained by the traders of Sultan Bazaar in their residential community park, had been home to thousands of pigeons. However, this once grain-laden park has recently begun to show green patches of grass, and the tower remains sealed with plastic sheet. The association decided to shut it in early 2023 after its members reported breathing difficulties, with a few diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.
Meanwhile, on the ‘Muslim Bridge’, toddlers are left to roam like in a park while their grandparents teach them how to feed pigeons. Young couples take advantage of the picturesque setting for pre-wedding photos, bird lovers irrespective of religion empty bags of grain for the birds, and vendors hustle for quick sales.
Overhead, the well-fed pigeons perch on the dozen electric lines and cables crisscrossing the sky, resembling festive bunting of their own.
Published – October 25, 2024 08:10 am IST
