Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Twitter/kassandraqueenn
Social media users have been reporting sightings of Las Vegas pigeons in hats since early December 2019.

The New Yorker magazine used to have a bottom-of-the-column feature called “There’ll always be an England,” which highlighted the quirkiness of that country. After you read the following story, you may want to recommend naming a feature “There’ll always be a Las Vegas.”

In December, the Guardian‘s Martin Belam reported on Las Vegas pigeons wearing hats.

“Two pigeons have been spotted in Las Vegas wearing tiny cowboy hats. While many have been amused by the sight of the birds, with social media users excitedly reporting sightings since a video was first posted to Facebook in early December, there are concerns for the welfare of the animals. …

“Mariah Hillman, who works with the local animal rescue charity Lofty Hopes, said the hats were glued on to the pigeons. ‘When we saw them today, you could see some loose feathers in the glue around the hat. It’s definitely a concern,’ she said. …

“Observers have named the two birds Cluck Norris and Coo-lamity Jane. Cluck Norris can be identified by the red hat he is wearing, as opposed to Coo-lamity Jane’s pink headgear. There are unconfirmed reports that a third pigeon has fallen victim to the trend and is sporting a brown hat. The Las Vegas Metropolitan police department told the New York Times it ‘does not appear to be a police matter at this time.’ …

“Hillman’s group has been attempting to capture the pigeons to remove the headgear, with little success so far. They said the birds had been difficult to trap as they were being fed repeatedly by people curious about their appearance, making luring them with food difficult.” More at the Guardian, here.

Meanwhile on Facebook, Lofty Hopes put up a message before Christmas to encourage animal lovers to make toys for their temporary residents: “Lofty Hopes is hosting a holiday get together to play Santa’s Helper and make toys for the many rescued pets who live here until they are adopted. Toys are an important part of their well-being and we want to provide new, enriching toys as gifts for the holidays.

“We will be purchasing all the toy parts such as bells, wood parts with holes pre-drilled, plastic chain pieces, etc. Come join us. This will be fun for all ages … We will be providing vegan hot chocolate.”

Want a follow-up? Check out the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where you will learn that Lofty Hopes, some volunteers, and a vet safely removed pigeon hats. Reporter Max Michor concludes with some tips: “Anyone who finds a sick or injured pigeon should first catch the bird to keep it from further harm, [Mariah Hillman, founder of the rescue group Lofty Hopes,] said. Humans can’t contract any diseases from touching a pigeon with their bare hands, she said, but a shirt or towel can be used to wrap and move the birds.

“Hillman said people should never try to force feed pigeons or drip water into their mouths, as they breathe through a hole under their tongue that can easily be blocked or filled with liquid.” Never say I don’t give you useful advice!

This is actually a Boston pigeon. We don’t do cowboy hats out East.