A New York opera singer who moonlights as a wildlife rehabilitator said she is helping a dive-bombing pigeon get rid of his bad habits.

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Jennifer Dudley, a mezzo-soprano who has worked at the Metropolitan and City operas, said she became interested in Fred the pigeon when she read a New York Post article about the bird dive-bombing police officers and dropping his feces on visitors to the Sept. 11, 2001, memorial, the New York Post reported Monday.

Dudley said she studied the bird and determined he was suffering from depression, a symptom of illness for the bird. She said she spent 10 days building up the bird's trust by feeding him before she was able to catch him Tuesday.

"I took him home in a cab, and he was extraordinarily friendly," she said. "He insisted on perching either on my hand, shoulder or head."

Dudley said Fred is staying at the home of another wildlife rehabilitator and will likely become a pet, as solo life in the city does not seem to suit him.