While there's no bird as iconic to New York City as the pigeon, they're not exactly beloved. City pigeons get a bad rap, with many viewing them as dirty or nuisances. But now, one New York photographer is challenging those assumptions.
Andrew Garn's latest book, "The New York Pigeon: Behind The Feathers", features over a hundred pages dedicated to the city bird. Garn, whose work has appeared in Vogue, the New York Times Magazine, and New York, says that pigeons should be widely celebrated.
"I think that pigeons are sort of underappreciated as birds," Garn told WNYC. "It's my belief that pigeons are actually the most important bird in the world."
According to Garn, pigeons and humans have benefited from each other's acquaintance for thousands of years. The birds have served as messengers and postal systems, as food, as sacrifices to gods, and even as fertilizer.
The book focuses on New York City's birds in particular, which have a shorter life expectancy than the average bird. A street pigeon has a lifespan of about 1 to 3 years, rather than the typical two decades, due to harsh living conditions. Pigeons in the city are subjected to injury, lead poisoning, and other illness.
Garn said he likes to capture the resilient birds on camera because pigeons are so quintessentially New York: tough, but soft at heart.
"The New York Pigeon: Behind The Feathers" by Andrew Garn will be available April 10, 2018.
An accompanying multimedia exhibition will be on display at from April 13 to May 13 at the Wild Bird Fund, Inc., and a book launch reception will be held at the The Powerhouse Arena on April 25.
All book and print proceeds will be donated to the Wild Bird Fund, Inc.