Egyptian hieroglyphics cited by the National Institutes of Health show that pigeons have been domesticated for at least 4,000 years.

Originally used for ceremonial purposes in ancient Egypt, domesticated pigeons were brought to North America by European settlers in the early 1600s to aid in communication. Pigeons carried messages through World Wars I and II, producing stories like that of the pigeon Cher Ami, who delivered a message about the location of isolated allied companies to American forces despite sustaining massive injuries in 1918.

Even with the long history of domestication and service to humans (Cher Ami saved the lives of 194 soldiers), pigeons were abandoned by humans and today aren’t generally seen as popular pets. According to Penn State Ph.D. candidate Josh Kapcsos and his pet pigeon, Rye, that’s unfortunate.

Kapcsos came to Penn State to join the Graduate Program in Acoustics knowing he would eventually want a pet. As a former parakeet owner with a lifelong love of birds, another bird seemed like a logical option.

With moving into an apartment in State College, though, another parakeet just wasn’t practical.

“I didn’t want to be disrespectful to my neighbors with having a bird just singing all day long,” Kapcsos said. “So I went on the internet and started searching what is a really apartment-friendly type of bird that I could get, and that’s what led me to the pigeon.”

After Kapcsos decided on a pigeon, he came across Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue (GLPR), a foster and adoption network for non-releaseable pigeons and doves. The rescue, located in Chicago, takes in pigeons from situations like owner surrenders to medical issues and cares for as many as 600 birds at a time.

The rescue serves an important purpose by keeping domesticated pigeons that don’t have the survival skills of pigeons born in the wild, off the streets, and out of the hands of pigeon breeders.

Since Kapcsos knew he wanted a rescue animal, he started an application with GLPR right away. After he was approved, the search for a pigeon began.

“They post everything on Facebook so you can see all their listings. I saw a picture of Rye, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, she’s gorgeous,'” he said. “She’s a German Owl Pigeon, a type of pigeon that’s considered a fancy breed. I just thought she was beautiful.”

Rye was rescued from a hoarding house when it caught on fire. She was first seized by animal control along with a few other animals and eventually found herself in the care of GLPR.

Through GLPR’s shipping program with the United States Postal Service, Rye was shipped in an animal-friendly box with a window complete with a seed cake and hydration gel to make sure the trip went smoothly. She arrived directly at the State College post office, where she met her new owner.

“It might have been a bit of a stressful trip for her, but I like to keep in mind that a couple of days of discomfort was hopefully worth the now year and a half of her being spoiled over here,” Kapcsos said.

While Rye was a little shy for the first few months of her time with Kapcsos, she eventually warmed up to her new owner. Now, Rye spends her days loafing (the inspiration for her name), sitting on her favorite perch on top of a cabinet, and demanding pets from Kapcsos when she’s not watching her nest in her cage.

While GLPR requires the birds to be left out of their cage at least 30 minutes a day, Rye is left out of the cage nearly all the time. She’s fed a pigeon-specific seed blend into which Kapcsos incorporates pigeon supplements and vitamins while also adding calcium to her water a few times per week.

Since Rye is a female, she lays eggs every month. Because the eggs aren’t fertilized, Kapcsos replaces the real eggs with fake wooden eggs so that Rye’s natural reproductive cycle isn’t thrown off by having them completely taken away. Along with replacing the eggs in her nest, Kapcsos leaves Q-tips around the apartment so that Rye can still forage while inside.

“She does this little wing twitch thing which means she’s excited and she’s saying ‘pet me,'” he said. “She wants to snuggle with you, she wants to be around you, and she even coos when I talk.”

Getting a pigeon wasn’t originally what Kapcsos imagined when he decided it was time to get a pet, but he says Rye has been nothing but clean and respectful since she came to live with him.

While pigeons aren’t your typical apartment pet, Kapcsos is extremely pleased he found Rye.

“This is a species of animal where there are a lot of misconceptions around them,” Kapcsos said. “I love explaining that they’re great birds, and they make great pets.”