[dropcap]P[/dropcap]igeons don’t get a lot of respect. In fact, some people refer to them as “flying rats.”
I think that is unfair and I consider pigeons to be quite handsome birds. In an urban setting, they add a spot of color and motion that is most welcome. Their only drawback – ask any statue – is their tendency to poop.
One thing that certain pigeons are good at is long-distance flight and strong homing instincts. That’s why the pigeon is a dependable bird when it comes to message delivery. Egyptian pharaohs used them; so did the King of Persia, who counted on them to provide information on his far-flung empire.
When taken into battle zones during both World Wars, pigeons were used to deliver urgent messages tied to their legs. They were used by both the Allied and the Axis forces.
Pigeons were also easy prey for their mortal enemy, the peregrine falcon. Because of this, the English trained these falcons to hunt down German pigeons, which alerted spies sent to scope out invasion possibilities. The falcons were used all along the Cornish coast to knock enemy pigeons from the skies. If they survived, the pigeons became POWs, just like their human counterparts.
In World War 1, a bird known as Cher Ami lost a leg delivering a crucial message to the American command from a battalion trapped by the Germans near Verdun. For this valiant effort, the French government awarded the bird a Croix de Guerre with Palm. Both Cher Ami (stuffed) and his medal are now on display at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History.
