Washington started watching his older brother breed pigeons when he was 5 years old, and he’s been hooked ever since. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Roller pigeons have a genetic predisposition to spiraling, tumbling and falling through the air, making for a fascinating spectacle of airborne acrobatics. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Taisean Washington, 16, looks to the sky for his roller pigeons to return. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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As a young man, Bobby Wilson was a gang member who served time in prison. Now 36, he’s settled down and is raising his children and his roller pigeons in a Lancaster suburb. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
After getting out of prison, Wilson used his parole money to start a magazine for roller-pigeon enthusiasts. He published the first issue in January and has more than 700 subscribers. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
London, a well-known South L.A. breeder, holds a pair of roller pigeons. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Keith London, a well-known South L.A. breeder, holds a pair of roller pigeon squabs in his hand. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Roller pigeon clubs hold competitions in which a breeder’s birds are judged on the distance of the tumble, the tightness of the spin and the number of pigeons tumbling at once. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Several of Keith London’s roller pigeons fly in formation over his uncle’s backyard in Los Angeles. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
London sits in the breeding loft with his prized roller pigeons. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
