Of course England has it's fair share of "flying rats". For some reason this one in Hyde Park seemed more like an actual bird to me than just feathered vermin.

I'm sure if I was there long enough they would become just as annoying as pigeons are here at home.

If only our north american cities were populated with flocks of these beautiful Nicobar pigeons. I wouldn't object to them at all.

Wikipedia stated that "This species was first discovered new to science by Otto Finsch who found a live bird received from the dealer C. Scheepmaker in Amsterdam Zoo and named it after him." Yet, the article is for the Southern Crowned Pigeon.

The L.A. Zoo sign called this bird Sheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon and it was softly glowing in the dappled sunlight of the aviary.

Another photo of this gorgeous pigeon. Wouldn't it be great if these birds were the ones flying around our cities and sitting on our statues?

This handsome Olive Pigeon eyed the photographer suspiciously.

This large pigeon with the remarkable feathers comes from the Nicobar Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean.

This pigeon never stood still for an instant so I had to get his photo on the run.