There’s one big link between rats and pigeons. Although the species are separated by millions of years genetically, they are drawn together through their shared affinity for humans. Most humans, by comparison, have very little affinity for either species! But as a biologist and photographer, I’m always curious about how their lives are intertwined with ours – and, of course, if it’s possible to take good pictures of these ubiquitous animals. So, join me as I tell a story of urban wildlife photography, with pigeons and rats as the subjects.
Neither rats nor pigeons co-evolved with humans, but over time, they have discovered that we humans are not such bad companions – or sources of food and shelter. The result is that the Domestic Rat (Ratus norvegicus) and the Feral Pigeon (Columba livia “domestica”) have become some of the most successful species on the planet.
I went to the city center of Prague one morning to photograph the city’s birds with my friend Tomas Grim, a scientist and birder who belongs to the elite group of the 3% most cited scientists in the world. As part of gathering images for his forthcoming book, we planned to photograph birds against a manmade backdrop – to find the connection between the human and bird worlds.
It wasn’t just pigeons that we had in mind – just any connection between birds and humans. For example, it could be a blackbird nested in the arms of a Czech national hero (a statue of him, at least). Or a heron fishing together with people sharing the same boat.
We warmed up a bit by photographing a dummy owl that we noticed on a kindergarten building. These fake owls are meant to discourage woodpeckers from digging their cavities into the soft polystyrene of the facade. (A mostly futile effort, by the way. Birds aren’t so stupid that they fall for this cheap trick.)
Next, we headed to Vyšehrad, a place with castle ruins and rat burrows. A short distance from the ruins, someone had dumped a whole pile of bread. It was an offer that was simply irresistible to the local wildlife. Some of it disappeared into the stomachs of pigeons, magpies and nutria, but most of it went underground, into the rat burrows.
All I had to do to get photos at rat’s-eye level was climb over one gate, lie down near the burrows, and wait until they accepted my presence. It didn’t take long for the rats to bring more slices of bread to their burrows. As they carried the bulky food in their mouths, they jumped almost like kangaroos – an absolute wildlife experience in practically the center of Prague.
Then we went to another Prague landmark, the Charles Bridge. At this point, pigeons perched on the surrounding statues caught our attention. The statues seemed to communicate directly with the pigeons. From the expression of their bronze eyes, I got the feeling that they were not quite thrilled by the presence of the feathered creatures.
Here, too, the interplay of people and wildlife was unmistakable. The pigeons stayed static, immune to the people walking by, until children would run around and scare them into flight. When they flew, the surrounding environment told another story, another layer, like in the image below with the Ukrainian flag and the words “Hands off Ukraine, Putin.” It’s a photo that could not have been taken without a meeting of worlds: pigeon and people, people and war.
We really immersed ourselves in the photoshoot, and it took us a while to realize that we had become a bit of an attraction ourselves. People were taking pictures of our efforts and having fun at our expense. And why shouldn’t they? We were two camouflaged weirdos with big cameras rolling around on the ground – tiptoeing around, and crouching behind a hedge (or in one).
One foreign tourist even brought an instant camera and took a Polaroid of us in action. And now the image below is very meta.
- I took a photo of:
- A photographer holding a photo of:
- A photographer taking a photo of:
- Another photographer taking a photo of:
- A bird.
- Another photographer taking a photo of:
- A photographer taking a photo of:
- A photographer holding a photo of:
Well, what can I say? That’s the way it should be. Photography should bring joy, not only to us, but also to the people around us.
Pigeons and Rats are very successful at establishing habitats where there is plentiful waste that is resulting from Human Activities.
Humans are so generous at offering their waste in wild abandon, in a City or Large Populated Urban area this is very easy to observe.
This practice in certain areas in the World, create the same scenario’s where Bears, Wolves, and Big Cats are at ease in their expanding their Habitats and encroaching into Human Populated areas.
I once read that the Rat in certain cultures is a Symbol of Good Luck, hence, where there are Rats to be found, there is waste to be found, and where there is waste to be found, there is prosperous living to be found.
I don’t do any City Photography with a Long Lens, I like to keep my valuable items concealed when traveling through a City, a non branded inconspicuous backpack and a almost candid approach with a Camera, is the one that suits my own situation for preserving security.
Nice writing, Libor. As usual, I shall add ;)
Pigeons are really unique, even among other synanthropic species. I find it fascinating that they have found high-rise buildings and a modern cityscape a perfect equivalent to rocks and cliffs they have originally lived in. Plentiful of food is just an added bonus.
While human’s aversion to rats is quite understandable, given the history of civilisations, bubonic plague etc., with pigeons I find it more complex. Some decades ago, pigeons were widely consumed and people were, more or less, indifferent to them. I guess it is the modern lifestyle, with thousands of cars, germophobia and general liking for sterile conditions that have pushed the pigeons to the margin of civilisation. Whoever has lived in any big city would admit that they are ubiquitous, they do defecate on everything (and “love” doing so on freshly washed cars ;) and the smell present at their gathering spots is not very nice.
I really like your Libor articles. Thank you
I love your take on the people photographing you guys! :-D
Yep, taking pictures at the most frequented tourist attraction in the Czech Republic requires a certain amount of patience. Similarly, I became the center of attention when I was shooting with a wide angle lens Alpine Choughs at the cable car station on Dachstein, Austria.
I see a lot of urban wildlife in the park near my house where I walk each day. Perhaps I should go hang out with my camera and have a photo shoot.
Curious that you mentioned nutria. I thought that was a South American animal. They are quite common as an invasive species in the southern United States where I live. I didn’t realize that they had made it to Europe.
It’s definitely worth taking the camera and getting out there, Jason. What may be a common species to you because it lives near your house is an exotic animal that will fly halfway across the planet.
For a South American rodent, the Nutria can tolerate the European climate very well. It’s quite a problem in some places. It was man and his desire for fur coats that brought it to Europe, of course. Similarly, we have your raccoons running around here in the Czech Republic.
Superb photos of urban wildlife! Your photos illustrate well the adaptability of these creatures. They have become urban nuisances due to their very success. It takes a fair bit of smarts to thrive as species despite every trap/poison/decoy/deterrent we humans invent!
Thank you so much Joyce, it’s just as you write. Their powerful brains have made rats and pigeons a global problem. Just like us humans :-)