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E27. They’ve been called "rats with wings," but pigeons are actually elite athletes, historical icons, and evolutionary marvels. Scott chats with Dr. Elizabeth Carlen, a postdoc at the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, to look past the common stereotypes and uncover the remarkable biology of the Rock Pigeon. In this episode, you’ll hear about: The deep historical bond between humans and pigeons and how domestic birds successfully transitioned back into the wild. How pigeons navigate the constant threat of specialized hunters like Peregrine Falcons and Red-tailed Hawks. How mapping the DNA of feral pigeons across the Northeastern US revealed that their…