It's Pigeon Appreciation Day so you know what that means: Pigeon Facts!

June 13th is Pigeon Appreciation Day. Historically pigeons have served humans as sources of food through their meat and eggs, as war animals much like horses and dogs, as means of communication, and were once widely kept as racing pigeons in coops on large city buildings. They were released in large numbers from their coops when pigeon races lost popularity/profit which contributed to the eventual high population of these feathered friends we see today.

In the 18th Century, due to it's great value and part in the making of gunpower, King George I/II (not 100% which sorry) of England declared that pigeon poo was property of the Crown. I'm not shitting you. ;)

Kept as pets, Pigeons are very affectionate birds and make much less noise compared to birds such as Parakeets or Macaws. No noise complaints from the neighbors, or any bleeding eardrums! ;) Pigeons are about as smart as a three-year-old, so they can learn simple tricks, too.

There are several pigeons who are decorated war heroes (if not "officially", they are heroes in my heart)! Notable examples are Cher Ami who you can find at the Smithsonian Museum in the "Price of Freedom: Americans at War" exhibit in Washington DC, and White Vision, Winkie and Tyke who received the PDSA Dickins Medal established in 1943 by Maria Dickin. It's awarded to animals that showed "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units". White Vision, Winkie and Tyke are the first recipients of this medal; they are just 3 of the 32 total pigeons (last I checked) who have ever been awarded this honor!

In 2001 on March 24th, Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks accidentally hit a flying bird from the pitcher's mound with a fastball during a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants. The speed of the fastball was unknown (ball needs to reach home plate in order to tell), but it was certainly fast enough to prove fatal for the bird, the incident was also caught on camera. Not the first time it's happened in baseball, but it might be the most famous example. (From photos I've seen of the Giant's player who picked up the bird and brought it off the field, the bird was an unlucky Mourning Dove who was just flying in the wrong place at the wrong time.)

The famous Serbian American engineer and physicist Nikola Tesla had an odd affinity for pigeons during his lifetime. He often took sick and injured pigeons back to his home to nurse them back to health, and regularly spent hours the park each week feeding them. He even kept the windows open to his hotel suite so they could visit him, including one white female pigeon. "I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman ... As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.”