23 Photos That Showcase The World's Most Beautiful Doves And Pigeons

I’ve never thought of pigeons as anything more than fairly dull and ubiquitous creatures that leave a lot of poop behind. But some people are really into these creatures – and they come in a variety of shapes and colors, partly because they may be one of the first domesticated birds. In fact, people have been breeding (and cross-breeding) them for hundreds of years. There are even show pigeons.

Archangel pigeon: Known for the metallic sheen on its feathers, the ornamental Archangel has unfeathered legs and orange eyes. Their bodies can be black, white, or blue, and those color types were refined in Germany. It's one of the older breeds of deliberately bred pigeons.