Rats with wings

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by CCIP

Last I heard, pigeons actually don't tend to carry any diseases dangerous to humans :hmm:

Man can be infected by pigeons or their dropbombs with these fancies:

Salmonellae.
Cryptococcosis.
Histoplasmosis.
Psittacosis.
Trichomoniasis (pigeon canker) - though I don't know if this can be infectous for humans as well.

Also:

Mites, some of which can be the carrier of their own deseases.

There is a reason, CCIP, why workers cleaning or killing places under the roofs of houses wear protectice breathing filters and all-body-covering protection overalls. You need to protect yourself against fungi, mites, and virusses entering your lung.

We call pigeons "flying rats" in German. I am not disgusted by them, but their presence has it's price. Some types of pigeons look beautiful, though. My great-grandfather (died in the early 70s) still was eating pigeons when he shot them in a rural place were he lived. After the war, many Germans did. Around 80% of pigeons you usually find in cities in the present are estimated to carry deseases that could infect humans as well.