Why on earth would the noble Lenni Lenape Indians call a large swath of today‘s South Philly “pigeon poop”?
We think the answer is obvious to anyone who has read about the extinct passenger pigeon - once considered North America’s most numerous bird.
Early settlers write how huge flocks of these good tasting birds would block out the sun for two or three days as they flew overhead. They always traveled in enormous flocks. And they always rested at night on tree branches.
When the birds took off again, the trees and ground were covered in bird feces – sometimes inches thick. Thus, the Indians called the area moyamensing, meaning pigeon poop.
How did a bird that once numbered in the billions become extinct by the early 20th century? Look it up on Google – fascinating reading.