>>537408615
>Rats of the Sky
I would give that name to Seagulls and Petrels, although the former are more deserving of the notion in my opinion, as Giant Petrels don't really interact with people and I'm grateful for that as they are infinitely worse to be around (they are called stinkpots for a reason). That being said I get a lot of people view Pigeons this way too.
It's important to note that the Pigeons generally viewed as "rats" are Rock Doves/Common Pigeons, and they aren't the Doves used as symbols of love or peace; that's generally either a stock, pure-white 'dove', or a Turtle Dove or Mourning Dove. The latter (the Mourning Dove) also bothers some people, but it's more because they tend to build nests in inconvenient locations and get bothered by the coos, rather than anything else. Rock Doves are larger, more numerous, and they live in dirtier urban environments so their bothersome behaviors are a lot more noticeable. And the reason Doves became used as symbols of Love in the first place is because they were one of the first documented and most well-known birds who didn't just mate for life, but were genuinely devoted to their mate and family.

When it comes to giving a glow-up for a Holy Harpy though I agree with you that there's a lot you can work with; Doves shouldn't just be it. Peafowl are very commonly used (often for Phoenixes), and there's a lot of fantastical birds as well. Crows are my personal favorite and have wonderful stories as well, from the Rainbow Crow to Yatagarasu and I've been working on a Harpy that will be a mix of these two. Taking cues from imagery like stained glass and symbols helps give more identity too; and I've done that for some of the Harpies I've drawn as well.

I grew up in an area with Mourning Doves though, and I occasionally still wake up to them outside my window, so maybe I'm just a little fond of them. They're definitely not in big enough numbers to cause problems at least.