Homing pigeon

The homing pigeon is a variety of domesticated Rock Dove (Columba livia) that has been selectively bred to be able to find its way home over extremely long distances. Because any pigeon generally returns to its own nest and its own mate, it was relatively easy to selectively breed the birds that repeatedly found their way home over long distances. The birds can carry messages (frequently written on cigarette paper) in a small tube attached to one leg. Flights as long as 1689 miles have been recorded by exceptional birds in competition pigeon racing. Their average flying speed over moderate distances is around 30 miles per hour, but they can achieve bursts of speed up to 60 mph.

This bird is to be distinguished from the carrier pigeon, an entirely different breed.

Navigation

Some research has been performed with the intention of discovering how birds can find their way back from distant places they have never visited before. Some researchers believe that pigeons navigate by Earth's magnetic field. Near their home lofts, in areas they have previously visited, pigeons probably are guided by natural and artificial landmarks. Research by Floriano Papi (Italy, early 1970s) and newer research published in the February, 2004 issue of Animal Behaviour suggest that pigeons also orient themselves by odors and/or combinations of odors. (See the August 20, 2005 issue of Science News.)

History

Messenger pigeons were used as early as 1150 in Baghdad[1] and also later by Genghis Khan.

In 1850, Paul Reuter, who later founded Reuters press agency, used a fleet of over 45 pigeons to deliver news and stock prices between Brussels and Aachen. The outcome of the Battle at WaterLoo was also first delieverd by a Pigeon to England.

They were used extensively during World War I, and one homing pigeon, Cher Ami, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for his heroic service in delivering 12 important messages, once despite being shot.

Homing pigeons were still employed in the 21st century by certain remote police departments in Orissa state in eastern India to provide emergency communication services following natural disasters. In March 2002, it was announced that India's Police Pigeon Service messenger system in Orissa was to be retired.

The humorous IP over Avian Carriers (RFC 1149) is an Internet protocol for the transmission of messages via homing pigeon. This protocol has been used, once, to transmit a message in Bergen, Norway.

See also

• War pigeon

External links

• An informative magazine article written in the 1880s
• Image of a homing pigeon (Note the straight slope from the top of the head to the beak, and the prominent band around the nostrils. This photograph also shows a message tube and a small sheet of very thin paper near the bird's feet.)
• The three most important things that every pigeon fancier should know
• Acquiring white homing pigeons
• The System of Military Dovecotes in Europe from an 1891 Scientific American article at Project Gutenberg