India, Aug. 19 -- The widespread practice of feeding pigeons has, over the years, changed their dietary habits and altered the city's bird population, pushing smaller birds away to the safety of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) director Kishor Rithe said amid the ongoing row over the Bombay High Court's recent order regarding the closure of kabootar khanas.

"Human beings should not decide their (pigeons') diet. But here, human beings have started deciding their diet and luring the birds with foodgrains," Rithe told Hindustan Times. He said pigeons are both granivores and insectivores. "It is affecting the health of the pigeons as well as other species like crows and kites."

The BNHS, a leadin...