Pigeons

The pigeon is not only the oldest, but also the most controversial pet of mankind: revered as a bringer of salvation and symbol of the Holy Spirit, fought against as a facade polluter, bred to be a champion in long-distance flight and poisoned as an alleged plague. It takes the homing skills of military-trained carrier pigeons not to lose one's bearings in this thicket of contradictions - or the know-how of the pair of pigeons that selflessly sorted the good lentils into the little pot and the bad ones into the little jar for Cinderella. In fact, it is probably the crop milk with which both pigeon and dove feed their offspring that allows the feral descendants of domesticated pigeons to breed in the draughty recesses of high-rise buildings and, with their astonishing mass, visibility and pecking manner, to answer the old question "Who owns the city?" cooing loudly. Karin Schneider follows the swoop of the celestial messenger of peace, whose offspring, branded as rats of the air, rummage through the rubbish of the metropolises, with astuteness and empathy for the urban outsiders.