WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
Researchers visually assessed 300 rock pigeons and found 46 with foot deformities. Prevalence was 22.5% in residential settings, 12.4% in the central business district and 10.4% at markets; residential birds had approximately twice the odds of deformities relative to central-business birds. Fibrous litter was observed as a plausible entanglement exposure.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Small, chronic injuries can reveal the material ecology of a city. Wildlife-sensitive urban management can be as specific as monitoring and reducing string, thread and similar waste.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
This is a cross-sectional association; researchers did not experimentally trace individual deformities to particular waste items. Odds differences were modest with site and sampling limits, and the findings do not establish a citywide trend.
SOURCE
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution — 29 Oct 2026
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