Birds of a Feather

Hmmmm ... wonder what the name of the post brought to mind?? Would love to know ;)

Well, I am literally going to write about birds of a feather - pigeons! (I use a lot of exclamations and smiley faces - that's just the way I am :) - see there I go again!)

So getting on, I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I love all animals, birds, insects, reptiles, etc. So obviously that includes pigeons. I also love providing food for all of the above :D.
Well, the easiest to feed all over the world have been pigeons. Following are pics of me feeding pigeons in 2 different places - unfortunately I do not have pics of me feeding pigeons in other places - namely Paris, Nice and London :(

The following pics have been taken in Venice, Italy in the San Marco square

Overcoat - Globus, Red fur T-shirt and jeans - random shop in Chembur

The following pic has been taken in Ghatkopar

So what do you think is the difference in feeding pigeons in Europe and feeding them in India? Yeah, yeah, I know .. what sort of question is this? Well, its important to me :-p .. So I am listing a few of the differences below:

• Pigeons in Europe are more interested in publicity. As you can see from the Venice pic, the 3 pigeons on me are totally enjoying themselves being photographed and don't care that they are not getting any chips. Ok, one of them has his/her head inside the bag, but the other two are glued to the camera.
• Pigeons in India are more interested in food. Again obvious from the above pics. All the pigeons are clustered around my legs and elsewhere - which is where the food was. Totally disinterested in me and the camera :-p
• Similarity: Pigeons at both the places have no manners. They were tramping all over my feet in search of food, even though I was throwing it away from me! This was fine in Venice when I had boots on. But in India, I was in slippers and could seriously feel their claws. (Note to myself: WEAR BOOTS NEXT TIME!)
• Pigeons in Europe love me ... awwww :) And how have I reached this conclusion? Well, the 3 pigeons above refused to fly off even when the food and the other pigoens were gone. Particularly the one on my head loved my hair so much that he/she just sat there gripping my hair! I tell you, I had a time getting him/her off my head.
• Pigeons in India of course do not love me. Only interested in the food .. sniff ... flew away the minute the food was over.
• A revelation: Hubby dearest is scared of pigeons :-D .. He just took the pics from a distance. And was really scared (screaming at me to get away) all the time the pigeons in Venice were fluttering around me. He really thought they would scratch my eyes out. By the time the Indian pigeons got round to getting some food, hubby had got used to the idea and the sight. He is no longer scared, though he does keep a safe distance. I am proud of you, darling!

Hmmm .. so is there anything I have missed? Does anyone have such similar experiences to share?

BTW, feeding pigeons in the San Marco square seems to have been an old pass time. See below a 19th century file photo of San Marco square (Source: Wikipedia)