Giant pigeon lands on the Highline in weird and gloriously New York moment

New York, New York - Good news, New York City! If you're still heartbroken the giant hotdog confetti cannon is gone from Times Square, the Highline just installed another weird oversized sculpture. This time, we've got a big ol' pigeon!

A16-foot-tall hand-painted hyperrealistic sculpture by Columbian-French artist Iván Argote was unveiled above the intersection of 10th Ave and 30th Street on the Highline.
A16-foot-tall hand-painted hyperrealistic sculpture by Columbian-French artist Iván Argote was unveiled above the intersection of 10th Ave and 30th Street on the Highline.  © Collage: The Highline & Iván Argote

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, wait, scratch that... it actually is a bird.

On Wednesday, a 16-foot-tall hand-painted hyperrealistic pigeon sculpture by Columbian-French artist Iván Argote was unveiled above the intersection of 10th Ave and 30th Street on the Highline, NYC's industrial raised walkway park.

The sculpture of the Big Apple's most annoying feathered patron was announced in July to much excitement and bewilderment. Now, the art piece's final nesting place over a main artery to the West Side Highway is just as glorious and strange as any of us could have imagined. And with its beady eyes, it seems like it's arrived to judge an unsuspecting populace.

If only the giant hot dog were here to see this.

Titled "Dinosaur," the unique installation perches on a concrete plinth and is the result of a winning pitch selected from 80 different artists in 2020. The Highline has explained that the curious addition "bears witness to our city’s evolution and confronts us with our ever-changing relationship with the natural world and its inhabitants."

The sculpture officially opens to the public on Thursday, so get ready to go bird-watching. No binoculars needed!

Watch out, Godzilla, Mothra, and King Kong, we've now added a giant pigeon to the concrete jungle's humungous herd. Although, knowing the "flying rats," it will probably just end up begging the kaiju monsters for food.

Just one thing's for sure: Only in New York.

Cover photo: Collage: The Highline & Iván Argote

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