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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Elle Hunt

The Norwich pigeon wars: how birds are dividing a UK city

A closeup of a woman with a brown pigeon on her shoulder.
‘They are genuinely so full of personality’ … Summer Loh. Photograph: Joshua Bright/The Guardian

At nine o’clock on Saturday morning, Norwich market is only just stirring: shutters are still down and the aisles are quiet. In the nearby Memorial Gardens, however, a large crowd has already gathered: the market’s pigeons are waiting to be fed.

Jenny Coupland arrives on the scene a little later than her usual hour, with a backpack brimming with seed. As she begins doling it out, the birds descend from their perches and cover the ground, pecking furiously. The sun catches their bobbing heads, sending iridescent shimmers across their brown and grey feathers.

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