Monday, March 08, 2010
Pigeons aren't dumb, just birds of a feather
Tom Angleberger
The New River Valley-based reporter answers your questions Mondays in his column, What's on Your Mind?
Recent columns
Q: Why in the world do pigeons line up on high power lines over Interstate 581 and the railroad? Why would they choose such cold, blustery places?
Mary Bishop, Roanoke
A: There's a temptation to say "because pigeons are dumb." I think many people would accept that answer and, actually, I'm not quite sure I want to give it up yet.
However, Virginia Tech ornithologist Jerry Via suggested another possibility.
"I have noticed this, too, but this time of the year it seems to happen more in the afternoon. I have wondered that even in this weather, if it is not warmer to be exposed to the sun on these power lines in the late afternoon when it is somewhat warmer."
And once one pigeon decides to sit somewhere, he or she may be joined by more.
"They are social birds, so it is pigeon see, pigeon do," Via explained.
This rule alone could account for the phenomenon. Imagine you have Pigeon A in a cozy, secluded nook and Pigeon B on a high wire. When pigeon C comes along, he doesn't even see Pigeon A, so he heads on over to hang with Pigeon B. This makes it even more likely that Pigeon D will see them and join them.
It's not unlike certain human behaviors, actually. Have you ever wondered if restaurants like a line that snakes out the door? People driving by see the line and assume the food must be great. In truth, the joint may simply have a very small waiting area.
Q: How much money do the "Dancing with the Stars" contestants get?
M. Mannings, Roanoke
A: Hard to believe this is happening, but I'm about to cite the celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com.
But in this case, they seem to have a pretty clear idea -- claiming to have obtained dancing star Shawn Johnson's contract from Los Angeles court filings. In fact, TMZ.com posted the document on its site.
It includes $125,000 for Johnson's "services during training, the first two weeks of episodes ... and the finale."
After that, her weekly pay would range from $10,000 all the way up to $50,000 -- depending on how far into the season she lasted without being kicked off. TMZ calculated that Johnson would make a total of $365,000 if she reached the final two.
That may sound like a lot, but in fact it's a paltry sum compared to the paydays that big sitcom stars have been known to get without doing a single shimmy.
Johnson, a gold and silver medalist in gymnastics in the 2008 Olympics, won the spring 2009 "Dancing with the Stars" competition.
In your reply to Judy Hensley in a recent column you had the following sentence: Yep, that young reporter was me. Proper grammar would have been: Yep, that young reporter was I.
Sara S. Kluttz, Wytheville
A: Man, you people are tough!
Even the Grammar Guru was going to let me get away with this one.
" 'It was I' is preferable in formal writing, but few of us would say that in conversation," retired English professor Virgil Cook told me. "I didn't even notice it because it's so widely accepted."
Another reader pointed out that I could have avoided the confusion by writing, "Yep, I was that young reporter." That seems reasonable.
Readers, please tune in next week as we begin our spring version of Ask the Readers. (So what if it isn't technically spring yet? We're almost there!)
Got a question? Got an answer? Call Tom Angleberger at 777-6476 or send an e-mail to woym@roanoke.com. Don't forget to provide your full name, its proper spelling and your hometown.
Look for Tom Angleberger's column on Mondays.
