He said "birds" not "bats". If you're going to be snarky, at least get the classification right.
Ironically, they're in the decline in their natural habitat while thriving in North/South America. The Americas has a few native pigeons, but none are as well known or wide spread as the Rock Pigeon. Quite a few pigeon species are also far from the ugly "rats with wing" stereotype[1], but they don't live in Europe or North America.