SPIRIT UNTAMED - Only in theaters June 4. An epic adventure about a headstrong girl longing for a place to belong who discovers a kindred spirit when her life intersects with a wild horse, Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in the beloved story from DreamWorks Animation. Lucky Prescott (Isabela Merced, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) never really knew her late mother, Milagro Navarro (Eiza González, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), a fearless horse-riding stunt performer from Miradero, a small town on the edge of the wide-open frontier. Like her mother, Lucky isn’t exactly a fan of rules and restrictions, which has caused her Aunt Cora (Academy Award® winner Julianne Moore) no small amount of worry. Lucky has grown up in an East Coast city under Cora’s watchful eye, but when Lucky presses her own luck with one too many risky escapades, Cora picks up stakes and moves them both back with Lucky’s father, Jim (Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal), in Miradero. Lucky is decidedly unimpressed with the sleepy little town. She has a change of heart when she meets Spirit, a wild Mustang who shares her independent streak, and befriends two local horseback riders, Abigail Stone (Mckenna Grace, Captain Marvel) and Pru Granger (Marsai Martin, Little). Pru’s father, stable owner Al Granger (Emmy winner Andre Braugher, Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine), is the best friend of Lucky’s father. When a heartless horse wrangler (Emmy nominee Walton Goggins, FX’s Justified) and his team plan to capture Spirit and his herd and auction them off to a life of captivity and hard labor, Lucky enlists her new friends and bravely embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to rescue the horse who has given her freedom and a sense of purpose, and has helped Lucky discover a connection to her mother’s legacy and to her Mexican heritage that she never expected. Spirit Untamed is the next chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s beloved franchise that began with the 2002 Oscar-nominated film Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron and includes an Emmy-winning TV series. The film is directed by Elaine Bogan (Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television’s Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia) and is produced by Karen Foster (co-producer, How to Train Your Dragon). The film’s co-director is Ennio Torresan (head of story, The Boss Baby), and the film’s score is by composer Amie Doherty (Amazon’s Undone, DreamWorks Animation’s Marooned).
Plump bird with small head and straight, thin bill. Plumage is variable, but most common form has gray back, 2 black bars in the wing, and blue-gray head.
The pigeon feather, often seen as mere urban waste, actually holds a rich and varied symbolism across cultures and traditions.
Far from being mundane, it has deep and sometimes unexpected meanings that invite us to reconsider this common object from a new perspective.
Feral Pigeons
Feral Pigeons are commonly found in urban areas, nesting in places such as a block of flats, a bit of Victorian Gothic architecture, or a railway arch. They are descended from the Wild Rock Dove and, over the years, they have become semi domesticated. Measuring 32-37cm, they can be identified by their distinctive twin black wing bars.
Their nesting can block chimneys, flues, and guttering, which can cause issues with carbon monoxide and water overflow from gutters. It’s also common to find parasites such as mites, ticks, fleas, and beetles in their nests. So, if you don’t solve your pigeon problem, you may find you suffer from a parasite infestation too.
Pigeon droppings are acidic and can corrode/erode metals, stonework, and brickwork. Not only can they destroy materials and look and smell unpleasant, they can transmit a variety of diseases from Listeria to E-coli. When dry, their droppings can become airborne in small particles, which can lead to respiratory complaints.
As I walked by a huge flock of pigeons, all at once they took flight with power and sync. But what I was suddenly curious about was why there are so many of them in every city in the world?
And by the way, when you say pigeon, be specific! There are over 300 species.
Woody Allen famously defined them as “rats with wings” in his movie Stardust Memories, though It was originally coined by Thomas Hoving, New York City’s parks commissioner, in 1966. The movie, however, spread the negative rap on pigeons like fire. They were ״officially״ bullying parasites who spread diseases.
Thankfully there are many who, despite the gloomy pigeon outlook, still spread bread crumbs in their town square. Washington square - NYC, Trafalgar Square - London, Melbourne/Sydney - Australia, Buenos Aires - Argentina, Mumbai - India…the list goes on.
Makes you think: these guys have taken over the world!
Except for the passenger pigeon who went from their millions to extinct within 40 years!
Why these massive numbers? Why pigeons, of all species? And do they really deserve Woody Allen’s marque of infamy?
Here are a few facts I learned.
And maybe after you read them…
You might, just like me, change your mind.
A common sight in cities around the world, Rock Pigeons crowd streets and public squares, living on discarded food and offerings of birdseed. In addition to the typical blue-gray bird with two dark wingbars, you'll often see flocks with plain, spotted, pale, or rusty-red birds in them. Introduced to North America from Europe in the early 1600s, city pigeons nest on buildings and window ledges. In the countryside they also nest on barns and grain towers, under bridges, and on natural cliffs.
Plump bird with small head and straight, thin bill. Plumage is variable, but most common form has gray back, 2 black bars in the wing, and blue-gray head.
Larger and plumper than a Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeons are tubby birds with small heads and short legs. Their wings are broad but pointed wings and the tail is wide and rounded.
