“When Doves Cry”

July 30 2009, 12:47pm

You may have read about this story in Monday’s NY Post: A flock of about 45 African albino ringneck doves were released in Queens, officials suspect during a wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, the birds are domesticated and unaccustomed with flying or finding food in the wild. The birds were found in a tree in Flushing Meadows Park on Monday; cold, wet and starving after a stormy weekend. Several animal rescuers and advocates were on the scene, including three of our staff. Along with the Wild Bird Fund, who helped rescue around 25 birds, we at Carlton Hobbs are now the happy guardians of four of these beautiful birds. They were color-marked as part of a health evaluation, all were quite tired and one was shivering uncontrollably. Today though, the birds are in much better shape, and all have gained a massive appetite! Figure 1 Figure 2 The birds fit right in amongst the items our collection. Doves, after all, have been represented in art since Antiquity. As symbols of fertility and love, and often portrayed in pairs, they serve as attributes of Ishtar, Athena, and Venus. A detail in figure 1, from our series of Three Maritime Allegorical Paintings, features a small vignette with the attributes of Venus, including her paired doves. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, doves symbolize purity and peace. In China, doves are also associated with fertility, as well as longevity. Our series of Chinese Wallpapers depict a number of birds, including what appears to be the Eastern Turtledove in figure 2. The Post came back to visit our birds Tuesday night, and you can read the follow-up to their original story here: Flap of Luxury as well as in Newsday. It’s important for people to be aware that the consequences of irresponsible actions, like the release of these birds, can really result in tragic situations. Luckily there are so many feather-friendly folks in NYC!