A few years back I read Andrew Blechman's book Pigeons. As he writes:

They've been worshipped as fertility goddesses, and used as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they've been used as crucial communicators in war by every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to America and are credited with saving thousands of lives.

Pigeon is one of the few animals that recognize themselves in the mirror. They also find home from anywhere, and we still don't quite understand how. But mainly, from my point of view, I became interested in them as a global urban animal, a constant companion that we see in almost all cities of the word. They are not like all the other birds we see in cities, but actually city pigeons are descendants of runaway doves, which makes them a bit like stray dogs. Only there's more of them. An they tend to look alike, no matter what part of the world you're in.

I started taking pictures of pigeons in different cities a few years ago, and I'm keeping an online gallery of them here, just for fun. Think of it as my way of introducing pigeons to the most populated city of the 21st century, the Internet.

Pigeons are actually doves, and found, with the exception of the North Pole, from wherever there are people. They have lived alongside us since ancient Egypt. Later found in royal dove houses, pigeons have also served in wars, all the way until the 2nd world war, being able to deliver messages in difficult circumstances and thus saving thousands of human lives. They can fly quickly over long distances. They will find their way back from distant places using their extraordinary sense of direction - the mechanism of which is not yet fully known. They recognize themselves in the mirror - an intelligence test passed by very few animals. Despite their traveling skills, they tend to build a home in one place and stay there until they die, also sharing their life from year to year with the same partner.

I’ve photographed pigeons around the world for some years. They are everywhere, and they are the same everywhere, just like us. This gallery has pictures of Swiss, American, Spanish, Turkish, Italian and Finnish pigeons. Mostly taken with a cellphone camera, the photos are named after popular first names of each region.