Health hazard: Flocks of pigeons in Selayang, Selangor, looking for food. In the background is Selayang market. — SS KANESAN/The Star
NO, I am not suggesting rats that scurry around in dirty drains and backlanes can fly. The “flying rats” I mean are pigeons that can be found perched on buildings and flocking in large numbers on the ground wherever there is food.
The urban pigeons we see are descendants of wild rock doves that inhabited cliffs, which is why the feral modern-day birds are attracted to buildings. These plump, small-billed and semi-domesticated birds may look gentle but they are the most unhygienic birds and carry more diseases than rats do!
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