For most North Americans, the image of a pigeon is one of a nuisance. They flock in big cities, where their mostly grey appearance fits with the urban landscape as they steal your lunch and poop all over park benches.
In the time I've been Diply's cute birb correspondent, I've learned something: pigeons can be beautiful too. Just not so much in North America.
These amazing birds are found in the Nicobar Islands that give them their name, as well as parts of other southeast Asian countries.
Their most obvious feature is their bright, iridescent colors, which evolved due to a lack of native predators.
Sadly, their years of evolutionary safety have ended and the Nicobar pigeon is now listed as near threatened on the endangered species list.
Invasive cats and rats have be introduced to their habitat and the illegal pet trade loves the pigeons' unique beauty.
Thankfully, conservationists are already working to protect these beautiful birds and hopefully, that "near threatened" never becomes more serious.
h/t: WWF India
