Sunday, October 3, 2021

Wounded Pigeon - Wounded Peace

 Wounded Pigeon - Wounded Peace 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Pigeon felled by air gun found refuge in the author's backyard. 
It soon recovered from its wounds and became a pet of the family.

Pigeons and doves are one, having a common genetic origin,* and seeing them around reminds us of peace, the universal yet elusive message to mankind which they carry throughout the world.

The dove of Noah that monitored the receding flood water in the bible, and today's doves and pigeons on people's parks, both lift  the human spirit out of its low ebb of hope and happiness.  

Cooing, their characteristic calling and singing, breaks silence and fills the emptiness of the landscape and treetops - and on listening to this peculiar sound, makes us feel we are not alone. 
 
They build their nests on trees, grassy fields, old homes, and any conceivable place where they can find food, security, comfort, company and peace, which they themselves carry and share.

They fill the sky to the delight of everyone,  alight on some places to mingle with people in their leisure, perch on mandala or haystacks, glean on newly harvested fields and on the roadside. 

They make good pets, and we train them to become part of our games and sports, thanks to their domestic traits, agility and homing instinct - from racing to carrying our messages. 

They make perfect specimens in the laboratory, from Charles Darwin's study of evolution to BF Skinner's experiment on conditioned learning, numerous researches notwithstanding.

 
Wounded Peace painting in acrylic showing details, by AVRotor 2020

*Pigeons and doves belong to the same family of birds (Columbidae), which consists of more than 300 species of birds.

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