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Since 1946, despite floods, cyclones and remote terrain, the birds have carried vital intelligence round Odisha state. Now the authorities want to clip their wings … With social media and smartphones offering instant communications, the postcard and the telegram are virtually obsolete. But in India’s eastern state of Odisha, police are working hard to preserve an even older practice – carrier pigeons. Used to carry messages between stations in remote regions and keep in touch with police units on the move, the police pigeons of Odisha also proved to be the only dependable method of communication during devastating floods in...

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Among the green landscape of CB Smith Park in Pembroke Pines was something that stuck out just a bit on Thursday. Actually, quite a lot. Park goers were shocked to see two pigeons whose feathers had been dyed pink. “They are now just a bright target for predator animals,” said Susan Oddo with Palm Beach Parrot and Bird Rescue. The bizarre sight is no laughing matter according to Oddo. Her rescue has taken in another bird with dyed feathers that was also captured in the area of Pembroke Pines. “These are animals that are raised in...

Aug 11 (Reuters) - Metro system riders in California's San Francisco Bay Area may have noticed a new station guard in recent months. A 5-year-old Harris's hawk named Pac-Man has taken up the perch at El Cerrito del Norte station, where he's on the look out - not for fare evaders, but pigeons. Ricky Ortiz, a falconer with Falcon Force and Pac-Man's handler, began patrolling with the bird at the station this summer, contracting with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, or BART, to keep the pigeons at bay and protect commuters from pigeon poop.

1) Pfizer 2) Moderna 3) Johnson & Johnson (Asking on behalf of relative who is young adult with no pre-existing conditions...however has had tough bouts with regular flu in the past and will likely be put in larger group settings in near future etc..)

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — More than 100 racing homing pigeons were stolen from a Greenville County home. According to the sheriff’s office, 116 racing homing pigeons were taken from a home off Roper Mountain Road. An investigation is underway and anyone with information regarding the stolen pigeons is asked to contact Investigator Burdine at 864-467-8293 or Crime Stoppers of Greenville at 23-CRIME.

LAS VEGAS, NV—Local pigeon Claude Beaker was proudly wearing his new MAGA hat in downtown Vegas. "The economy is good, and there's lots of leftover bread crumbs and stuff for us pigeons," Beaker told reporters. "Trump has some personal moral failings, but the economy is doing well, and that's what matters for the fowl members of society." But sadly, just a few hours later, Beaker was brutally attacked in broad daylight by the dreaded domestic terrorist group Pigeon Antifa. Clad in ski masks and bandanas, the pigeons swooped in and threw tiny bricks and adorable little Molotov cocktails at Beaker....

An anonymous group claimed it was behind the release of pigeons over the city of Las Vegas that are wearing MAGA hats and -- in at least one case -- a wig that resembles President Trump's hair. The group, calling itself Pigeons United To Interfere Now, or P.U.T.I.N., called it an "aerial protest" of Wednesday night's Democratic debate, local Fox affiliate KVVU reported. They also released a video of birds wearing the headgear, with a voiceover of dialogue from the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds." PIGEONS WEARING TINY COWBOY HATS POP UP IN LAS VEGAS, SPARKING CONCERN FROM ANIMAL RESCUERS...

An anonymous group calling itself "P.U.T.I.N." said they released pigeons wearing MAGA hats into downtown Las Vegas.  According to an email from the group's apparent leader "Coo Hand Luke," PUTIN -- which stands for Pigeons United To Interfere Now -- released the birds purposely on the eve of the Democratic debate set for Las Vegas on Wednesday. The group included video of the pigeons' release in their media alert. One of the pigeons was attached with a small orange hairpiece. The rest wear "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) hats, synonymous with supporters of President Donald Trump.

KVVU reported that a local animal rescue and pigeon advocacy group known as Lofty Hopes has serious concerns about the negative impacts the hats will have on the pigeons. "At first, I was like, oh my God that's cute!” Mariah Hillman told KVVU. "Then, I was like, wait a minute – how did they get those hats on there?“ Hillman runs the animal advocacy organization, whose slogan is, “a pigeon positive movement.” While the identity of the person putting the hats on the pigeon remains unknown, Hillman told KVVU her organization is on a mission to track down the birds...

Brussels -- A star racing pigeon named Armando has fetched a record 1.25 million euros (about $1.4 million) in an online auction, Belgian media reported Sunday. The prized bird -- Belgian's best long-distance racer of all time according to those in the know -- was snapped up by a Chinese buyer for the princely sum that caused a flutter of excitement among fanciers. Armando had been expected to break the previous record of 376,000 euros ($425,000) paid for a pigeon called Nadine -- but not by such a wide margin. "Earlier this week it became clear that Armando would be...

The study, which focused on the ancient settlements of Shivta and Sa'adon, found archaeological evidence that the Byzantines in the Negev did not raise their pigeons for food, but to fertilize the dry loess soil and making it more suitable for intensive agriculture. Loess is made up of fragment of geological detritus, formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. But despite its lowly origins, loess tends to develop into very rich soils. Under appropriate climatic conditions, it forms some of the most agriculturally productive terrain in the world. "The pigeon droppings are rich in phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, which are...

It’s reviled by city slickers, but revered by chefs. A vintage postcard of a pigeon plant. Wikimedia Commons ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Brobson Lutz remembers his first squab with perfect clarity. It was the 1970s at the now-closed French restaurant Lutèce in New York City. “I came from North Alabama where there was a lot of dove and quail hunting and I knew how tasty little birds were,” the fast-talking Southerner recalls. “I’m not even sure if I knew then if it was a baby pigeon or not. But I became enamored with them.” When he returned home, however, the New Orleans-based physician...

Husbands in Purbalingga are apparently neglecting their wives because they are too busy with their racing pigeons. As a result, dozens of married women have filed divorce petitions because they have become jealous of their husbands’ intimacy with the animal.

It's all fun and games until a pizza becomes a pigeon. On the heels of recent viral videos featuring rats love for pizza is this gruesome clip of one rodent having a very different kind of feast as he attacks and kills a pigeon in front of shocked New Yorkers. When the video begins the rat has already sunk it's teeth into the poor pigeon, which is seen desperately trying to flap its wings and escape.

OKLAHOMA CITY — An infamous fundraiser that involves shooting pigeons has taken down another flying object. A drone that was being used to film Senator Inhofe’s pigeon fundraiser was grounded Saturday. The annual fundraiser earns money for the senator as guests shoot at tame, banded pigeons as they’re thrown into the air. Showing Animals Respect and Kindness is an animal rights group that secretly filmed the fundraiser for Senator Jim Inhofe last year. This year, the group said they tried to use a drone to record the event Friday night in Greer County, but they reported the drone was shot...

[The following is an excerpt.] Could it be blowing from farm to farm in the dirt? Could determined starlings and pigeons be carrying it into poultry houses on their feet? Is it spreading in feed, or being carried on truck tires? Federal agriculture officials are looking everywhere they can think of for H5N2 bird flu, which has spread to poultry flocks in 14 states and killed or forced the slaughter of more than 39 million birds. Highly pathogenic avian influenza has never spread like this before in the United States, and it's flummoxed the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farmers and...

Raising doves and pigeons is a deadly pursuit in ISIS-controlled Iraq. The popular hobby is in the sights of extremist Islamist fighters, who this week rounded up 15 boys and young men in the eastern province of Diyala for pursuing a pastime now deemed un-Islamic. Three have already been executed. The recent crackdown on bird breeders stems from ISIS' need for new fighters to battle the Iraqi and Syrian governments, as well as residents' growing desperation, according to the security official. Suspicion of bird-breeders stems from the fact they tend to feed their animals at the same time devout Muslims...

Officials in China this week examined the anuses of 10,000 pigeons that were set to be released today in celebration of National Day, amid government fears of a possible terrorist attack. According to reports from state-run media outlets, the birds had their feathers, legs, and anuses searched for "suspicious objects" yesterday, before being packed onto a truck and sent to Tiananmen Square in Beijing for today's ceremony. Many reports on the probe disappeared from China's tightly-controlled media after being published, though some articles and tweets remain online. The entire process was reportedly videotaped.

Tomorrow marks exactly 100 years since the last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. At their peak, millions — some argue billions — of passenger pigeons flew together, creating such a ruckus as to make normal conversation a challenge. Yet their numbers diminished rapidly, plunging perilously close to extinction within just a few decades thanks to our voracious appetite for the birds. Then they flamed out completely, the last wild one shot in 1900 and Martha dying 14 years later. “The bird was hunted out of existence,” wrote journalist Barry Yeoman in Audubon...

NEW YORK,-- New York transport officials said pumping avian distress and predator calls into a subway station has reduced the number of pigeons at the facility. Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the agency contracted California firm Bird-B-Gone to install the $375 system at the Roosevelt Island subway station in December and officials have since seen "a noticeable decrease in birds and droppings," The New York Times reported Monday. The system pumps pigeon distress calls and predator sounds through the facility every 2 to 10 minutes to discourage pigeons from making the station their home. Some...