Alighting on the black metal hook that suspends our bird feeder over the deck railing, the Band-tailed Pigeon perches momentarily before losing its grip and sliding down the smooth rod like a penguin on ice. It rests on the railing gazing at the feeder and thrusting its head rhythmically forward as if it were an exotic Egyptian dancer.
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Peter Wallack, Band-tailed Pigeon
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 Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long Neck @1535[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
The proportions of the bird remind me of Mary in the painting, Madonnna with the Long Neck by Mannerist artist, Parmigianino. They both have large elongated bodies and petite heads, making them appear elegant and awkward at the same time. Mannerist’s distortions were a short-lived response to the Renaissance obsession with perfect proportions. The Band-tailed pigeon is a response to (or more accurately a relative of) the Passenger Pigeon, extinct as of September 1, 2014.
Seeing the reflection of the sky in our sliding glass doors, the pigeons occasionally fly into them, leaving a dusting of white on the glass that outlines the shape of their bodies and outstretched wings, like the doves representing the Holy Ghost in Renaissance paintings.
Masaccio, Holy Trinity 1427-1428
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
I wonder if those ethereal dusty imprints are harbingers of the pigeons’ future. According to the Sacremento Bee, there is a mysterious epidemic ravaging the birds, leaving more than 10,000 dead this past winter. Will they go the way of Mannerism?