The pigeons of Piccadilly Gardens have long been among the most reviled residents of Manchester city centre.
Many describe them as a health hazard, accusing the birds of spreading disease, or at the very least making the place more dirty.
They've even been blamed for the Gardens frequently woeful turf by eating the grass seed.
Such is councillor Pat Karney's dislike of the pigeons, he's previously called for increased fines for people caught feeding them.
In 2004, a specially-trained hawk was hired at a cost of £300 a day to hunt the birds, but despite various crackdowns the pigeons continue to flock to the Gardens every day.
But now it has emerged not everyone hates them.
A pair of artists say the birds were the inspiration behind 'Coo' a new range of artwork and jewellery.
Among the items available to buy is 'PuPu' a brooch in the form of a pigeon dropping.
Available in gold and silver, it currently retails for £32 online or at Object Style, an independent home and clothing shop in Chorlton.
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The artists behind the project, Rebecca May and Michael Wild, met at Manchester School of Art and formed MayWild Studios in 2017.
Both have a background in ceramics and now work out of practices in Manchester and Saddleworth.
Rebecca told the Manchester Evening News: "The 'Coo' bird came from walking through Piccadilly Gardens on an early evening when we saw the birds.
"They are quite vilified, people call them flying rats, they look a bit grubby, they were eating chicken out of a KFC bucket, it was pretty gross!"
"As artists that's really what inspired it.
"There's something beautiful about the birds.
"They've got a beautiful plumage, if we didn't have them in Piccadilly Gardens we would probably miss them."
The Coo bird was their first work, handmade from concrete with a leg designed to reflect the KFC chicken bone the pigeons were eating at the time.
And for their follow-up, Rebecca and Michael set about the pigeon poo brooch.
"Everybody hates pigeon poo," said Rebecca.
"As a process, we like items that are quite mundane and the challenge of turning them into something beautiful.
"It was quite a long process of work for such a little piece."
"We were standing on ladders and dropping materials to get a realistic splat!
"We were so tied up in getting a realistic dropping, like a bird had done something on you."
The result is the PuPu brooch which is made out of cast zinc metal with a gold finish.
"It was all about elevating the status of the Manchester city pigeon," said Rebecca.
"It's based on the idea of good luck if a bird poos on yuo, or 'muck for luck' as they say up north.
"It's a celebration absolutely.
"Sometimes it's seeing beauty in something we take for granted."
Although most of their work is handmade, this time Rebecca and Michael sent their brooch prototype off to a UK-based company to manufacture the brooches.
Although only Object Style stocks them in store for now, the artists say they may look to sell them more widely.
"We've had a really positive response," said Rebecca.
"Some people were a bit 'oh my god what's that?' but on the whole people love it."
