A Pure White Dove Is Still a Pigeon

Tagged with animal meat, animals on July 2, 2024

If you search Wikipedia for “dove” or “pigeon”, you will be redirected to the page for Columbidae. That’s because there aren’t any scientific differences between them. The differences are in language and culture. In Spanish, paloma refers to both, and in Tagalog, kalapati refers to both.

The Pure White Dove

Not all doves are white. Whether it’s called a dove or pigeon depends entirely on the person (or people) naming it. Pure white doves are raised and collected due to all the symbolism they represent.

That symbolism includes love, new beginnings, peace, and prosperity. It also includes the “departure” of a loved one at a funeral or memorial. Doves are almost always released into the air during wedding and death-related ceremonies, but only when they’re used, of course.

The Pigeon

Unlike doves, many people believe pigeons are dirty birds. The reality is that pigeons are no dirtier than other birds. They will poop in flight like all the rest. They bother people who see them on their rooftops. Some of them have pigeon spikes put in place so they can’t land in those spots.

In big cities in the United States, you can spot large flocks of pigeons in various places, along the sides of buildings with overhangs and such. Like other birds, they hang out where they can be close to food supplies, whatever that food happens to be.

I saw the same thing with gulls when I was going through Marine Corps basic training in San Diego, California. Those birds would hang out near the food disposal containers. Like pigeons, they were largely ignored until they started pooping on people.

Pigeons are a source of food. Yes, you can eat them. Their meat is tough, just like old turkeys (which I’ve had the displeasure of trying to eat). The people who eat them regularly try to eat them when they’re young, when they’re called “squabs”. The meat isn’t tough until they’re adult birds.

In all the years I’ve lived in the Philippines, I’ve never seen more than one pigeon, and that pigeon was being held by someone. I suppose a large population of them can’t exist in a place where a lot of people are constantly hungry.

Image by Marc Pascual from Pixabay