I was curious to see if I was mistaken or not on the pigeon thing and was pleasantly surprised to see that I did indeed remember correctly (which is certainly not always the case). The common pigeon (rock doves) are not indigenous to North America.

The domestic pigeon or rock dove was first introduced from Europe by French settlers in the early 1600's (Schorger 1952). Now they are one of the most noticeable birds in American cities and farming communities. Countless thousands are still reared annually by pigeon fanciers who use them for homing and racing competitions, and each year the feral population is supplemented by captive-reared individuals that fail to return home. Rock dove populations were ignored by scientists and bird watchers before the Breeding Bird Survey began in 1966 and were not reported on Christmas Bird Counts until 1974. The population appears to have stabilized following a sharp increase in the 1960's and 1970's
Taken from here: http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/noframe/x177.htm

It's an interesting article, goes into detail about many non-native species of birds that are all over now including the house finch which I did not realize was not native here. Pigeons are everywhere because they were domesticated.