Meet Canada's fanciest pigeon that's preening to keep championship title

When you think of pigeons, you might conjure up images of grey speckled birds pecking bits of food off city streets. But there's a lot more to the feathered flock. In fact, some pigeons are quite fancy, according to Gary Parsons — and he would know.

The veteran pigeon breeder from Sarnia, Ont., can boast of having the top show pigeon in the country, for now. His helmet pigeon was crowned grand champion pigeon at the Canadian Pigeon Fancier's National Show in January in Portage la Prairie, Man. 

Now, he's gearing up to bring 15 of his finest birds to compete at the next national championships, which are in Winnipeg from Jan. 10 to 11 and he's hoping for another successful year. 

"That would be outstanding," said Parsons, who's been pigeon keeping and breeding for five decades. His champion pigeon, which technically belongs to his wife, doesn't have a name but goes by 567, the number it's tagged with. 

While you can't cuddle with a pigeon like cats and dogs, they certainly have personality, Parsons said. 

"They can sit on your shoulder and they can nibble at your ear. They'll nibble at your fingers tips."

About 800 birds and their owners are expected to make the trek to Manitoba next month, along with top-tier judges from as far away as Germany and the U.K. 

There are hundreds of breeds of pigeons but they are grouped into three types: racing pigeons, homing pigeons and show pigeons. 

"Most people just think of the pigeons that they see flying downtown or under the overpasses of the highways," Parsons said. "These show pigeons look totally different. Most people don't recognize them as being pigeons."

Pigeon raising is a longtime hobby for Brian Heck on Vancouver Island, where he is the president of the Canadian Pigeon Fancier's Association. He'll be bringing his jacobin birds to compete in Winnipeg, and has travelled around the world supporting the endeavour.

"In many parts of the world, the hobby is experiencing phenomenal growth. Places like China, Austria and Hungry are seeing incredible interest," Heck said, noting pigeons can be raised in urban areas where bylaws allow for domestic birds.

And while breeding and raising pigeons has been around for centuries, and was even a fixation for Charles Darwin as he worked to understand genetics, the hobby is in a slump here at home, experts say.

The Sarnia group that Parsons belongs to has a current membership of approximately 10 people. Most of the members have 20 or 30 pigeons they keep in a shed or coop in their backyard to raise for competitions. 

Recruiting kids, Parsons said, is harder these days because there are so many other activities pulling their attention. Heck said he's looking to 4H groups interested in starting clubs to peak the interested of a new generation of pigeon aficionados.