Delhi’s rooftop pigeon keepers keep a Mughal-era tradition aloft

A kabootarbaaz (pigeon keeper) sits among pigeons inside a netted rooftop enclosure in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 26, 2026. (REUTERS)

A kabootarbaaz (pigeon keeper) drives pigeons into flight during a training session on a restaurant rooftop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 5, 2026. (REUTERS)

Men and boys watch pigeons overhead from a rooftop gathering in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 26, 2026. (REUTERS)

A pigeon perches on a rooftop as other birds sweep across the sky in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 5, 2026. (REUTERS)

Abdul Wahid, a kabootarbaaz (pigeon keeper), looks up for pigeons flying overhead outside a house in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 26, 2026. (REUTERS)

Pigeons circle above the tightly packed rooftops of Delhi’s old quarters near Jama Masjid, India, January 5, 2026. (REUTERS)

A man feeds pigeons on a rooftop overlooking Jama Masjid in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 26, 2026. (REUTERS)

Azhar Udeen, 30, a kabootarbaaz (pigeon keeper), holds a pigeon marked with pink colouring to distinguish it from other flocks on the rooftop of his house in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 26, 2026. (REUTERS)

A kabootarbaaz (pigeon keeper) calls his pigeons back with distinctive sounds during a training session in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 24, 2026. (REUTERS)

A kabootarbaaz (pigeon keeper) stands beneath a rooftop net enclosure in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 26, 2026. (REUTERS)

Source: REUTERS

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