Elizabeth

“Red-Tailed Hawk: North Americans are lucky that this huge, gorgeous hawk with a brick-red tail is a common species. In rural settings, it's often seen hunting from perches like fence posts and telephone poles. But across the continent, it has become habituated to city life. This has earned it many admirers; for instance, there are multiple books about a beloved New York City redtail named Pale Male who once nested near Central Park. On the other hand, people get alarmed when a red-tailed hawk plunks a dead pigeon onto the hood of their car and starts to chow down. There's no satisfying some folks.”
― Rosemary Mosco, A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird

“When a pigeon pair picks a nesting spot, the female sits there and urges the male to bring her sticks, straw, feathers, and other material that she arranges around herself in a loose disk. The resulting construction is best described by words such as 'flimsy,' 'haphazard,' and 'bad.' Some pairs don't even build a nest; they just lay eggs on their chosen ledge and sit on them.”
― Rosemary Mosco, A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird

“Try this: Think about what the words 'pigeon' and 'dove' mean to you. Many people think of pigeons as dirty and doves as peaceful, elegant, and even holy. But you've been fooled by Big Dove. Technically speaking, pigeons and doves are the same thing.”
― Rosemary Mosco, A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird

“Could I even write another book if I couldn't drink away the goblins in my brain that whispered mean things to me while I sat in front of my laptop struggling to put words on the page? You have no talent. You're not funny. Why would anyone pay you to write? You're going to have to give the advance back because you can't do it. Ha ha ha. Maybe you should've gone to college. Also you need to lose ten pounds. The goblins always managed to get in a little weight jab while they were at it.”
― Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, Drunk-ish: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving Alcohol