CBC news network at 7 pm.

Passerby

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/the-secret-life-of-pigeons

All Text the show site, click above to read complete text. 

Thks to blog reader passerby for sending this in.

As the first animal to be domesticated, pigeons have a story to tell. A drama filled, steeped-in-history, amazing story. Although they’ve faded into the background of city life, pigeons have made an incredible contribution to human history. For centuries, we relied on them for everything from food, to vital communications, to entertainment to modern day brain science. They deserve more respect!   

ones you see on city streets today are the descendants of domestic birds. Their gritty urban lives are spent trying to evade all manner of perils…and… stay one step ahead of starvation, a constant threat. To survive where they’re not wanted, pigeons rely on a combination of charity from a few and their own incredible smarts….
In a series of fascinating experiments and carefully placed cameras, we take you inside their perilous world; in the air, on the street and in the nest. One of the first things to notice is just how incredibly smart they are. We’ll demonstrate how pigeons can spot and remember faces, how they distribute themselves around the city so that each bird gets the same amount of food, how they manage to deftly avoid all manner of threats from hungry hawks to speeding cars….and also, how they’ve learned to navigate over great distances from places they’ve never been; one of the great mysteries of science.