Pigeons In The Yard

     For the first time since I can remember, a group of pigeons landed in our backyard. Eight rather stately-looking gray pigeons descended on an area where I throw out grain for our ducks and geese. The only other pigeon encounter in our property was when a solid white pigeon perched on the second-story window frame of our garage several years ago. The white pigeon, which I called "Gabriel," would perch at night and disappear during the day. This went one for about a month, until Gabriel disappeared altogether.
     I have mixed feelings about the new arrivals. I love doves, and for the most part, pigeons look like overstuffed doves. But for some reason I've always thought of doves as peaceful and noble, while I've viewed doves as scavengers and dirty. But I'm not sure of the logic in my opinion, considering the two types of birds are very similar.
     True, they do have their differences. Pigeons have the ability of being oriented toward their surroundings. Hence, carrier pigeons have been known to find their way back home after being released many miles from their origin. Doves, on the other hand, do not have this sense of orientation and would likely get lost if they were released in new surroundings.
     That's why I've found the Biblical accounting of doves being released from Noah's Ark as somewhat in incongruous. If a dove were released today from the Ark to "find their way" to land, it would presumably get lost and never return to its starting point. However, there are two logical explanations to explain this "incongruity" in the Bible.
     One, because of the similarity between doves and pigeons, Noah might have released a pigeon from the Ark. It's conceivable that in being translated from their original languages in Hebrew and Greek to English, the term "dove" and "pigeon" could be interchanged.
     Two, the dove that Noah released from the Ark could have been blessed with divine intervention. Put simply, God could have installed a sense of orientation in that particular dove.
     I don't fault the pigeons who have found our back yard as a feeding trough. Wild doves have been coming around for months for the same reason. It's a joy to have any feathered friend that feels comfortable enough to set down around our house. Except for those pesky crows, that appear to take delight is sometimes scaring off the smaller birds.