10th
The evolution of the city bird
I’ve lived and grown up around the city of Chicago my whole life, and surprisingly, I still find aspects of the city fascinating and downright funny. This past week was the first week of classes, and my first week of being downtown in a while. It took me a couple of days to get back into the swing of things, like how to walk down the street and talk on a cell phone without getting hit by tourists, runners, messengers on bikes and everyone’s favorite, taxi drivers. Usually by the end of the day I’m exhausted and want nothing to do with anyone or anything. However, the other day as I was crossing the street to catch my train, I noticed a couple pigeons on the ground searching for food and whatever else it is that pigeons do on a daily basis. As I approached the intersection, I stopped along with everyone else to wait for the green light and oddly enough, so did the pigeons. Once the light turned green, everyone, including the pigeons proceeded to cross the street as well. Now, I don’t know if I’m the only one who finds this humorous and a little frightening at the same time, but if I had any doubts of Darwin’s theory of evolution in the back of my mind, they definitely have been shattered by this phenomenon. Is it possible that within the past century of modern technology, birds have adapted and some have even evolved to the point where they can co-exist in an urban setting with humans, and follow our own code of direction? What other animals are out there with these “super-species” abilities?
