In 1969, a pigeon landed on a man's head and never left. He simply made peace with it
Interestingly, the pigeon was also seen sitting on Wood's head during the interview as well.
When a pigeon landed on a British man, Glynne Wood, in 1969, he tried to shoo it away, assuming that it would leave him. Little did he know that the pigeon had no such plans and was here to stay. In an archival interview by the BBC, which resurfaced on August 21, Wood spoke about his life with a pigeon over his head and how he made peace with it.
A UK-based income tax officer, Glynne Wood from Stechford in Birmingham, in 1969 shared the story of a pigeon that began living on his head and never left. Wood was walking back to his house one day when the pigeon decided to land on his head and never flew off. Speaking to BBC News, he called the bird a "friendly" companion, who was named Charlie. "It's very friendly. Very friendly to me, that is. It doesn't like my wife," he said. Although Wood tried to get rid of the bird in the first instance, it followed him around, only to land on his head again. When the interviewer asked him where the bird followed him, Wood replied, "It goes everywhere. Everywhere that I go, the pigeon goes. Up the road, in the shops, greengrocers."
That included his work as well. But how did he sleep at night? Wood said, "Well, each night I put it in the garage and lock the doors, and then the following morning, when I'm well clear of the house, my wife opens the garage door, and it flies off. When I come home at night, it's waiting for me." Interestingly, the pigeon was also seen sitting on Wood's head during the interview. However, as time went on, Wood made peace with it. "I don't see one. If it was all in my mind, I could see a psychiatrist, and that would be the end of the matter, but this is real." As it turned out, Charlie the pigeon belonged to a Polish-born factory worker named Mr. Pawel Miotla from Ludlow Road, Alum Rock. After he recognized his bird on Wood's head from a newspaper picture, he contacted Wood, thus solving his problem forever.
A 2023 study published in the Journal of Nature Communications noted that animal tolerance toward humans plays an important role in helping wildlife and people live alongside each other. The study made 10,000 observations of 842 bird species from open tropical areas in Africa, South America, and Australia and found that birds in rural areas were more likely to fly away sooner than birds in cities, showing lower tolerance of humans. Larger bird species, birds that lay more eggs, and birds with stronger flying ability were generally less tolerant of human approach. While the pigeon may have shared an untold bond with Wood, it may also have simply chosen a temporary host until its real owner returned.
Soon after the video resurfaced, many online users reacted to the bizarre yet funny story. @Nicola Dines wrote, "I love the way they discuss it all so earnestly and seriously, whilst the pigeon dances about on his head! I too love pigeons, they are very underrated and people can be cruel to them." @Jamie Tan shared, "Sometimes you’re the statue, sometimes you're the pigeon." @Shannon Devra Ropp wrote, "We have 2 pigeons and they're actually quite brilliant. And yes they ride around on my head."
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