History of Domestic and Feral Pigeons (Columba livia) in Finland before 1900 A.D.

Abstract

The oldest certain evidence for domestic pigeons (Columba livia) in Finland dates back to 1557, when pigeons were kept at the Iso-Heikkilä royal estate near Turku. For the period 1600-1800 evidence is extremely scarce . In the 19th century both domestic and feral pigeons were well-known in Finland, although rarely mentioned in ornithological literature. In Helsinki there were feral pigeons in 1831-1847, and by around 1880 they were established in several cities in southern and central Finland. Although pigeons were sometimes kept in Finnish manor houses in the 19th century (e .g. in Haminalahti), this was probably not common. U. Godenhjelm, the local postmaster in Mariehamn (Aland Islands), was granted permission to build a dovecote in 1894, and was mentioned as the first trainer ofmessengers in Finland. Besides messengers, in the late 19th century pigeons were experimentally used as decoy birds in hawk-traps . There is no evidence for organized persecution of urban feral pigeons before 1900.