PIGEON
COLUMBA LIVIA

- once domesticated in a symbiotic partnership,
today let go amongst modern urban life

- descendant of the dove, bred over thousands of years for agriculture, navigation, religion, communication, sport, companionship, and beauty

- across time and distance, remain bonded in monogamous pairs; with a strong sense of home, never relocating more than a few blocks

- reach speeds of 90mph while perceiving movement in slow motion; navigate thousands of miles using memory, sight, smell, low-frequency sound, ultraviolet light, and magnetic fields

- recognize their own reflection and remember individual human faces, building trust and sensing potential threat

- a symbolic presence in new york, often in the background, the unsung companion of humankind
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