Officials in cities throughout the country have been driven to extremes to get rid of pigeons that roost, nest, fight, and raise families on the cornices, column caps, and ledges of public buildings.

The American Public Works Association says that pigeons have three main character defects that make them such a social problem: (1) they make too much noise, (2) their uncivilized habits deface the surroundings and imperil people walking below, and (3) their very numbers mar architectural beauty. The same criticism also applies to starlings and some cities have found similar fault with woodpeckers and even squirrels. But reports to the association indicate that pigeons have been the greatest troublemakers of late.

Among cities to report the need for firm measures against pigeons are Chicago, Ill.: Denver, Colo.; Montreal, Que.; Cincinnati, O.; New Orleans, La.; Baltimore, Md.; and New York City.

The Chicago Transit Authority has just hired the Twin City Pigeon Eliminating Company of St. Paul, Minn., for a year to service its elevated railway stations. The CTA had tried to conduct its own pigeon program by use of sharply toothed metal stripping along roosting beams. But the birds did not mind the discomfort enough to go away. The company set traps that are box-like, chicken wire containers.

The lures are shelled corn, water—and a female pigeon. At the end of the day, the pigeons who have succumbed to these appeals are to be disposed of painlessly.

Denver's statehouse has been a favorite residence hall for pigeons, and officials there have used a chemical that gives the birds a hot foot and exudes an odor that is said to be no irritant to the human nose but evil-smelling to pigeons.

In Montreal, a gluey substance provided by a British Columbia company was used as a pigeon repellant on the city hall and annex and on the Mount Royal Chalet. New Orleans and Cincinnati have also used a chemical compound, made by the National Bird Control Laboratories of Skokie, Ill.

In Baltimore, while the War Memorial Plaza has been a favorite hangout for pigeons, the People's Court Building has stayed birdless. One explanation for this difference is that the cornices on the court building are set at a steep slant.

One of the reasons that pigeons flock around city halls, statehouses, auditoriums, and post office buildings is that people feed them. New York has undertaken to remind residents that it is against the litter law to feed pigeons. New York has also included funds for "pigeon-proofing" in its appropriation for replacing the exterior stonework on its city hall. The "proofing" is described as an electronic, pulsating device that will shock and irritate pigeons seeking to come to rest on windowsills and other projections.