But Pigeons, Am I Right?

A flock of fat, finely-feathered pigeons sat around the base of the Eiffel Tower on the day my husband and I rode to its second floor. A sign over them explained that they were part of the diverse wildlife of the park.

It is a good thing to acknowledge the part they play in our world. There are, according to the Wikipedia article on Pigeons, 33 to 35 species of the Columba, including American cousins. Their family roots are murky, with the remains of a possible Paleolithic ancestor of a living subspecies being found in China.

They eat what we toss, and they enliven all parks everywhere. I think the species strolling around the Eiffel Tower were rock pigeons, and they were beautiful.

We always coo over exotic birds, but the familiar is also worthy of wonder. I plan on admiring many more of them.