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For the past few months, passengers waiting to climb aboard a VRE or Amtrak train have become familiar with an out-of-the-ordinary regular — a rare Lahore pigeon, known for its black and white tuxedo-like plumage and feathered feet that resemble bell-bottoms.
WTOP had to see it for ourselves.
“I noticed him about two months ago,” said one passenger during a Friday morning visit to the station. “Every now and then, he’ll wander along the platform and come up close to the passengers, as well.”
But why would such a fancy pigeon be hanging out at Alexandria’s Union Station, located across from the King Street-Old Town Metro station?
“After seeing him a couple times, someone said someone dropped him off with his cage, and just abandoned him, and station staff took care of him for quite a while,” said the passenger.
The accidental commuter was dubbed Gregory.
When arriving at the station, a station employee said Gregory wouldn’t be found at the station anymore: “Oh, he’s at my house.”
The employee recalled the first time seeing the fancy pigeon, when a passenger asked, “Why is there a penguin on the platform?”
Even without an ornithology degree, the employee knew this wasn’t a penguin. Using an app on their phone, the employee snapped a photo and the app identified it as a Lahore pigeon, a domesticated bird named for the city in Pakistan.
Word spread about the attention-grabbing pigeon residing at the station.
According to the employee, visitors tried to catch Gregory. One passenger even joked that he wanted to eat the pigeon.
That was too much to bear for the employee, who had fed Gregory at the station and realized that the domesticated pigeon enjoyed human interaction.
After checking with animal and legal experts, the employee learned caring for a domesticated pigeon as a pet was fine, and last week decided to care for Gregory at home.
In a shared photo of Gregory, in a new cage, the employee reports he’s doing well in his forever home.
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