I believe that the preponderance of bicycles in Amsterdam has an effect on the pigeon population. I think there are so few pigeons because they hate all the bicycles. I have never seen so many bicycles in my life.
One travel tip I forgot to mention in the previous post; while walking in Amsterdam your biggest threat is not pick pockets, trams, motorcycles, bums or cars... it's bicycles. I learned this after a few close encounters of the dingy bell kind. Every time you cross the street, every time you walk past an alleyway or the pavement changes color under your feet, look every which way you can, then look again. Because chances are the first place you looked now has a bicycle bearing down on you at full speed. AND the operator of said bicycle is on a cell phone, talking or texting. They are everywhere and they have the right of way. Almost every street has a bike lane and the lights do not seem to apply to them. So even though you have a green light, check to the left, right, forward and behind, and then again, because they will come barreling around the corner behind you and they ain't stopping.
I think all of this annoys the hell out of the pigeons. Not only are the bikes filling the streets, but everything stationary has a bike attached to it. They lock them to trees, railings, light posts, street signs, statues and even park benches, which makes the bench unusable. There are thousands of them. If you ever commit a crime on a bike and want to hide your get away vehicle, lock it to a light post in Amsterdam, it will never be found.
Pigeon One: "I hate these dirty bikes they are everywhere"
Pigeon Two: "I know they are like rats with wheels"
Pigeon One: "BREAD CRUMB!!"
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