trash dove: the head-banging bird taking over social media

‘trash dove’ was conceived by syd weiler simply enough: during a trip to minneapolis, she spotted some pigeons eating bread from the ground, and inspiration stuck. ‘I was sitting by a pond…and there were just pigeons everywhere,’ she says in an interview with mashable. ‘I had never thought about pigeons before. they’re funny little birds. they have really shiny, colorful, almost rainbow-y feathers, but then they bob around and waddle and beg for food. they’re like doves but they eat trash.’ and so, the now ubiquitous ‘trash dove’ was born.

the concept started out as a humorous set of facebook stickers 

trash dove stickers became available as part of an iOS 10 update in 2016. in january 2017, they were added to facebook’s messenger system and instantly took flight. syd weiler‘s charming birds became an lightning-fast sensation in thailand, where they took roost in every corner of the social media universe. memes, fan-art, videos — even, regrettably, porn. it wasn’t long until the phenomenon spread.

the hand-banging bird became an instant phenomenon in thailand, and the bane of comment sections worldwide

the sheer share-ability of the the colorful fowl lies in their relatable and hilarious simplicity: the standard set includes vignettes of the animals yearning after crumbs, celebrating the discovery of a warm french baguette, nibbling on a discarded pizza slice or, certainly the most popular iteration: head-banging. now, just as with pigeons in real life, the birds are everywhere — once an image of hilarious frivolity, now the bane of comment sections worldwide. 

the pigeons have popped up in comments sections worldwide

leapt on by the internet community, the purple dove has been used to aggressively spam conversations and forums in every corner of the internet. from complete obscurity, the trash dove has sprung up on the facebook pages of almost all major media outlets: the guardian, the verge, highsnobiety, business insider — even the new york times isn’t safe. of course, leave it to the internet to ruin a good thing — the hungry bird has even been claimed in certain circles to be a ‘secret symbol’ of the alt-right. it’s an interesting development for something which for the artist, sprung from a simple desire to immortalize the pervasive pigeon. 

weiler, for her part, is just happy to make people smile, ‘[the trash doves] were made to make people laugh and make people happy,’ she says. ‘I’m really glad people like them. I’m really glad they make people smile and seeing the fan art and all the nice comments has been really, really nice.’

some internet denizens have combined the dove with popular meme ‘salt bae’
image courtesy of know your meme

he trash dove has sprung up on the facebook pages of almost all major media outlets
image courtesy of new york times facebook