»In which evolution triumphs

Tom Lehrer sang "It's not against any religion to dispose of a pigeon", and got me started on the notion of urban wildlife. In the pigeon, have we humans produced the ideal pest, one who lives symbiotically off our excess food, our wasted resources, and our tall urban buildings? Once a source of food and a means of communication (really!), the pigeon has become a scourge on buildings and public squares in every metropolis.

The Public Art Program of the San Francisco Arts Commission has struck me as hit-or-miss, but the current kiosk exhibit along Market St. wonderfully reflects the challenges of urban art. One of the six posters shows a proud peregrine falcon, which eats pigeons and also prospers in downtown San Francisco.

This exhibit, which I see while traipsing the unfriendly blocks of Market St on my way home, coupled with an interesting piece on urban pigeon control in today's New York Times Magazine brought to mind the Tom Lehrer song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" (mp3 recording), which first made concrete the inchoate notion I had that yes, pigeons are expendable pieces of Nature.