Carrier Pigeons

                      

As communication goes, carrier pigeons were one of the first types of way people transported their messages. Between 63 BC and 21 AD, greek geographer Strabo "noted that pigeons few between certain points along the Mediterranean coastline to carry messages of the arrival of fish shoals for eating fishermen."  He was able to see their abilities to identify a home base and travel between places.  These pigeons were known to be used in ancient Egypt.  They were also used by Genghis Khan and very often in World War I. The pigeons I usually see on the street I usually think of as dumb and dirty, but they are actually very intelligent.  They are able to recognize their home location and travel back to it when they please.  This makes them an ideal messenger.  

Carrier pigeons played a major role in World War I.   They held all kinds of roles in the war.  The Germans even had what were called photographer-pigeons which were pigeons with cameras strapped on them.  They were used to capture images of enemy troop movements and air bases. By the end of the war, "France had mobilized 30,000 pigeons and had declared that anyone impeding their flight could be sentenced to death."  This rule had to be put in place because of people killing the carrier pigeons in the past to prevent messages from being shared during the war.  By the "end of January, 409 pigeons had been used and 73 had returned safely" due to  "Prussian bullets and falcons trained to intercept them."  Less than 10% of the carrier pigeons survived the shell fire, small arms fire, and poisonous gases used to hurt them during the war.  They also went on to be used in the second World War; "mainly in Europe, India, and Burma."  In conclusion, these birds were an important part of the war and they were vital in sending secret information. 

It is really fascinating to me how smart these birds are and how people were able to utilize their skills especially in war time.  Researching for this post has made me more interested in pigeons and reminds me that my perception of them in everyday life may be skewed.  It makes me sad to read all the statistics on pigeon deaths and targeting during the wars.  This was hard to read about.  Although I am still not the most fond of pigeons when I see them on the street, this is interesting information to know and I never would have expected that they played such a vital role in our World Wars.