I’m sure someone will find me terribly insensitive for asking this question, but do homeless people hunt pigeons? As I sit and feed the pigeons in my city, many of them come right up to me. I could grab as many as I wanted, if I were patient enough. If I found myself homeless and hungry I would see these birds as a chance to have fresh grilled meat every night (It tastes like chicken!). 
I think most homeless people would know that pigeons are totally infested with filth and disease, probably to the extent that rats are, and no matter how hungry you are it is never a good idea to eat a pigeon.
Pigeons are smart birds, they know not to go up to homless people cause they might get eaten. Animals are devilishly clever when it comes to survival.
Are you sure about that? I’ve got a “kit” of pigeons that hang around the house (outside, of course). I feed them nice nutritious wild dove food from time to time. They all look pretty healthy & disease free to me, and I provide them with a bird bath to keep clean. I always joke around about how I’m fattening them up for when I get low on food money. My landlords used to raise squab. “My” pigeons are pretty tame too, and I could probably pick off the occasional fat one w/out the others noticing too much.
What sorts of filth & disease are you talking about? I suppose in this day & age they could carry West Nile Virus. But would you catch it from eating a nice plump juicy lemon & thyme roasted pigeon?
Yuck, pigeons are disgusting. I’d rather eat leftovers out of the trash than a pigeon.
You aren’t fast enough to catch a wild city pigeon, Ranger. It takes a falcon to do that. 
Go ahead, try it.
I know you see them wandering around so close to people, looking like they wouldn’t notice if you tried to grab them, but just make a move towards them and watch 'em spook straight up. They’re watching you, bub, every moment, while they’re eating that popcorn, and don’t you ever forget it.
Think of it this way… maybe you COULD catch a pigeon, if you had enough food to attract a bunch, and could feed them long enough for them to get comfy and sloppy.
If you had enough food to do this, why would you need to eat the pigeon?
And there you have it. Homeless people don’t want pigeon, they want cheeseburgers and stuff.
Pigeon is as foreign to them as it is to the rest of us.
Peace,
mangeorge
Yes, homeless people are very, very wise, having a superior intellect. And if there is something they don’t know, they’ll just ask the invisible friend they’re always walking around screaming at.:rolleyes:
You were talking about the same folks who dig cigarette butts out of the garbage for a smoke, right? Real health conscious, those bums are.
Define “the rest of us.” Up until a year or two ago (when it became too much of a bother), my wife’s grandparents raised pigeons in a coop to eat. Many people down here do. Then again, those wacky Cajuns will eat anything…
Personally, I think pigeon tastes nasty, but apparently there are a few people who disagree.
What’s a hunting pigeon?
Just for the record,
!. People really DO eat pigeons,
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I have seen my son, aged approx 7, capture city pigeons. (He didn’t harm them, just wanted to pet them.)
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It looks like a lot more trouble than it’s worth.
I remember from a couple of threads about homeless people (contributed to by Dopers who have been homeless) that they sometimes ate dog food because it was cheap … but also that it did not have to be cooked. When you’re homeless you don’t have pots and pans and grilling equipment and are therefore not likely to go to the trouble to catch, clean and then cook something, no matter how plentiful and tame they seem.
It’s worth looking up those threads. They’re eye-opening to what homeless people actually think and feel, as opposed to what we might imagine.
Per what Ellen said she is quite correct. Plus consider the presence and frame of mind it would take to carry out the capture, killing, gutting, cleaning and and cooking of a pigeon. If someone is competent and determined enough to make a meal of a squab they are not likely to be wandering the streets.
“Wild city pigeon”?
Wow, PETA could make that a depressing advertising campaign about urban sprawl replacing native wildlife habitats.
The consensus answer to the OP so far is no, homeless don’t hunt pigeons.
Killing & cooking a pigeon wouldn’t take much. A good slingshot, a pocket knife & some sticks would be about all you’d need.
But, pigeons tend to hang out around people & where they’re likely to find food discarded by people. I don’t think those people would take kindly to watching you kill a pigeon in front of them. Then, you’d need a place where you can have an open fire without attracting the police.
For those two reasons, I’d say it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
If what the OP really meant was just plain old survival, then any bird, squirrel, rabbit, deer etc is fair game. But the need for that kind of survival is relatively rare in the US, at least.