Pigeon Hero! (Ready-to-Reads)

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Roman Mosaic 3rd Century AD. Prophet Mohammed Depicted with Dove. Pigeons Being Fed at Temple. The first historical mention of the pigeon being used to carry messages was in the city of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia in BC. The ruler of the city released two doves to carry the news of the relief of the city from its warring neighbours. It is believed that pigeons have been bred in China since BC, and according to author Salvador Bofarull, Indian and Arab merchants used carrier pigeons when visiting China. Several hundred years later, references have been found that confirm pigeons were used to carry messages attached to their legs.

At the first Olympic Games held in BC, every athlete taking part brought a homing pigeon from his village. If he won his event, his would be the bird that carried the news home.

In the 5th century BC the first network of pigeon messengers is thought to have been established in Assyria and Persia by Cyrus the Great, and later in 53 BC Hannibal was thought to have used pigeons to carry despatches during the Battle of Modena. Julius Caesar is also believed to have used pigeons to carry messages during the conquest of Gaul northern Italy, France, Belgium and western Switzerland from 58 to 51 BC.

Pigeon Post Woodcarving In the early s pigeons were used for the first time as commercial messengers by the Rothschild family to communicate between their financial houses. A series of pigeon lofts were set up across Europe where carrier pigeons were housed and then dispatched with important financial information. This method of communication was far more efficient and considerably faster than any other form available at the time, and it allowed the Rothschild family to play the markets ahead of the competition and amass a fortune as a result. Later, in , pigeons were used to great effect as commercial messengers by the world famous Reuters News Agency.

The service was started in in Germany and pigeons flew between Aachen and Brussels in Belgium, carrying the latest news and prices of stocks and shares. A telegraph service had already been established between the two countries by , but it was so unreliable, and there were so many gaps in the communication lines, that pigeons were used for their speed and reliability. Pigeons were able to travel the 76 miles between Aachen and Brussels in 2 hours, whereas the railway took over 6 hours to do the same journey.

During the siege of Paris by the Prussians in , carrier pigeons were taken out of the city, along with refugees, by balloon. During the siege a total of 65 balloons escaped Paris, many carrying pigeons. The pigeons were then taken to pigeon lofts set up well outside the battle zone from where they could be sent to cities throughout France. Communication between the besieged city and the outside world then became possible as a result of this unique system of carrying messages. Post Office Notice Paris Pigeon Poster, Paris The Prussians became aware of the carrier pigeons and employed hawks in an attempt to catch them, but many of the birds got through and delivered their messages.

Medals commemorating the arrival of the pigeon post in Paris The first airmail service using pigeons was established in in New Zealand and was known as the Pigeon-Gram Service. In the First World War, pigeons were used extensively for carrying messages. During the Battle of Ypres in , pigeons were used to carry messages from the front line back to Brigade HQ, and although German marksmen were deployed to shoot the birds down, many survived and delivered their messages.

Pigeons were also carried in tanks during battles and released through tiny portholes in the side. Mine-sweeping boats also carried pigeons so that in the event of an attack by a U-boat, a pigeon could be released with a message confirming the exact location of the sinking boat, often resulting in the crew being saved. Even seaplanes carried pigeons to relay urgent information about enemy movements. In the Second World War, pigeons were used less due to advances in telecommunication systems and radar, but they were still used in active service in Europe, India and Burma.

Orissa Police Pigeon Handlers. Later, in 53 BC, Hannibal was thought to have used pigeons to carry despatches during the Battle of Modena, and Julius Caesar is also believed to have used pigeons to carry messages during the conquest of Gaul northern Italy, France, Belgium and western Switzerland from 58 to 51 BC. Pigeons also played an important role during the siege of Paris in , where birds were smuggled out of the city in balloons and then used to carry messages to cities throughout France. It is, however their feats of bravery and the thousands of human lives that they saved in the two Great Wars that is more often remembered.

Pigeon Wagon World War I. As pigeons can fly at incredible speeds, over kilometres per hour, this method of communication was faster and more reliable than the very basic telegraph systems in service during the First Great War. Both the Belgium and French armed services used pigeons extensively during the First Great War, with an estimated 21, pigeons losing their lives in active service. French Pigeon Corps, WW1. Many pigeons in both Great Wars were awarded for their bravery and their heroism. Red Cock was released from a torpedoed trawler and returned to his loft with a message carrying the grid reference of the sinking boat.

As a result, the crew were saved, although the captain, who released the pigeon, was mortally wounded.

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He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The Dickin medal is awarded to any animal that has distinguished itself through an act of bravery in wartime, and of all the animals that have been recognised for this award, the pigeon has been recognised more times than any. Of the 55 medals awarded to date, pigeons have been recognised 32 times. The last bird was called for, Cher Ami, and Major Whittlesey wrote a final message saying: Own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us.

The bird was immediately shot through the breast by enemy fire and fell to the ground, but managed to get back into the air. Cher Ami then flew the 25 miles back to his loft at Division Headquarters through a constant barrage of enemy fire and made the journey in 25 minutes. As a result, men from the 77th Infantry Division were saved.

Cher Ami had delivered the message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, covered in blood, and with a leg hanging by only a tendon. He became a hero of the 77th Division and medics managed to save his life and replace his leg with a wooden one. The American and Australian Services also used pigeons extensively and had their own pigeon units operating in many different countries. Allied bomber crews usually carried a pair of pigeons so that in the event that the plane was shot down, the birds could be released with details of the crash site.

Pigeon Message Capsule, World War 2. Pigeon Carrying Vest, World War 2. Paratrooper with Pigeon in Harness, World War 2. In over crates of pigeons were dropped into Enemy-occupied areas of Europe, each bird being packed into a single box with enough food for 10 days. Instructions and a questionnaire were also included in the box. An estimated 16, pigeons were parachuted into occupied Europe during the Second Great War but only 1, returned. Message Enclosed in Pigeon Carrier. However, important information was received via the birds, particularly information relating to exact positions of the V1 flying bomb site in Peenemunde in Germany.

Pigeons were also used extensively for aerial photography.

Pigeon with Message Capsule and Harness. The following quote, from Major General Fowler, Chief of the Department of Signals and Communications for the British Army, sums up just what a vitally important role the pigeon played in wartime:. World War 2, Pigeon with Camera.

In an impressive memorial to commemorate all the animals and birds killed during wartime was erected in Hyde Park. Pigeons have been given pride of place on the wall of the sculpture where they are carved in relief, with two pack mules in the foreground weighed down with munitions and cannon parts. Huge numbers of animals and birds lost their lives in both Great Wars, particularly the First Great War, with 8 million horses being lost and pigeon losses in the hundreds of thousands. Further impressive memorials to the pigeon bravery and heroism in wartime can be found in Brussels, Lille and Berlin-Spandau.

Most died in appalling circumstances. Dickin Medal For Bravery. Ancient Dove Houses, Cappadocia Turkey. Dovecote in Karanis Egypt AD Although little is known of the domestication of the pigeon in China, an excavation of a tomb at Chang-Chou, near Honan, dating back to the 1st century AD found pigeon lofts built into towers around a central courtyard. This appears to confirm that pigeons were domesticated over two thousand years ago in China and used either for food or for sacrifice, or possibly as messengers.

In the same century, the Roman writer Varro, who wrote extensively about animal husbandry, described the domestic pigeon in some detail and the types of buildings in which they were housed. His description of the interiors of the lofts or dovecotes are quite detailed, describing the ledges upon which the birds roosted and bred as well as the smooth surfaces around flight holes designed to deny access to predators.

He also confirmed that pigeon cotes were numerous, with some housing as many as birds. Pigeons were also mentioned in cookery books written by the Roman gourmet Apicius, dating back to the 1st century AD, confirming that the birds were considered to be a delicacy. The pigeon was also consumed both as a delicacy and as a part of the staple diet in Medieval England post 5th century. The earliest remains of dovecotes found in Britain date back to the 12th century, with one early example uncovered during an archaeological excavation in Raunds, Northamptonshire.

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In 16th century England, pigeon production for meat became commercial, with some pigeon farms housing anything up to 30, birds. The wide popularity of pigeon meat resulted in the bird becoming part of the daily diet rather than being considered only as a delicacy. In the main it was the squab pigeon chick that was consumed, with young birds being killed at approximately 4 weeks old for the table.

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Although most ancient dovecotes are believed to be round in shape, the 17th century saw rectangular and octagonal dovecotes being built, some with incredibly intricate designs and housing many thousands of birds. The interior of a dovecote is usually a large open space with the breeding cubicles or ledges in rows around the internal walls.

Although pigeons were farmed in the main for meat, their by-products were also in great demand. This was particularly the case in the 16th century when pigeon excrement was found to contain saltpetre, a substance used in the manufacture of gunpowder. As a result, pigeon excrement became even more widely prized than pigeon meat. In some cases, armed guards were posted outside dovecotes to stop thieves stealing pigeon excrement.

Production of saltpetre from pigeon excrement ended in the late 18th century when saltpetre was Restored 17th Century Dovecote.

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In the 19th century the rearing of pigeons for meat fell into decline, which continued into the 20th century. However, during the First World War the American government encouraged people to breed pigeon squabs for meat, telling them:. Interior of Minster Lovell Hall Dovecote. In Britain, pigeon farming died out in the early part of the 20th century and there has been little interest since other than a mild resurgence of interest between the two Great Wars and later in where pigeons were bred for meat in Kent.

Ironically, the pigeon is now wrongly perceived as a disease carrier, in the main as a result of commercial propaganda pumped out by the pest control industry, with America being the source of a majority of this misinformation. However, it was less than years ago when Americans were told that there is 'nothing better to eat' than the pigeon, confirming absolutely the myth that the pigeon is a disease carrier. The first historical mention of pigeons being used for the purposes of sport is in the Jewish Talmud AD — The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history.

Within the Talmud there is a definition of a pigeon trainer as being someone who deploys decoy birds to attract other birds from another loft or dovecote. This reference suggests that the ancient pigeon flying sport of Triganieri, or a version of this sport, may have been first practiced as far back as AD The sport of Triganieri is thought to have originated in Modena in northern Italy during the 14th century. Triganieri, Modena in 14th Century. Dovecote-bred pigeons were commonly used for the sport of falconry.

Of course hawks and falcons were commonly used to kill wild pigeons and in fact still are today in many countries worldwide, particularly the Middle East and the UK. Pigeons were also used to train falcons, using a live pigeon as a lure rather than the more common feathered lure. In the late 18th century, organised pigeon shooting became a popular sport in England, with tame dovecote-bred birds being used as targets. Up to birds were used during one event. Later, organised pigeon shooting clubs were established, with the famous Hurlingham Club being founded in London in The birds that were used as targets in these shoots became quite highly prized, with members of clubs like the Hurlingham Club paying as much as half a crown per bird.

Olympic Games Poster, Paris Incredibly, the Summer Olympic Games held in Paris in included live pigeon shooting as a demonstration event, but due to public outrage, it was never granted official status. Even more incredible is the fact that over years after the shooting of domesticated pigeons for sport first started in England, the state of Pennsylvania in the USA continues the tradition.

Several shooting clubs in Pennsylvania host pigeon shoots where captive feral pigeons are released from traps and shot at point-blank range with automatic and semi-automatic weapons. A majority of the pigeons sold to these clubs are feral pigeons that have been illegally netted for the purpose. Pest control companies also cage-trap feral pigeons for their clients, supposedly as a method of bird control, and sell the live birds to shooting clubs.

Pigeon racing as we know it today is the sport most commonly associated with pigeons and a sport which is still enjoyed by large numbers of enthusiasts worldwide. The modern day sport of pigeon racing started in Belgium in and within 20 years had made its way across the Channel and was being enjoyed in the UK. Pigeons are released to fly over a carefully measured distance during a race and the time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is then measured.

The bird's rate of travel is then calculated and compared with that of all the other pigeons in the race to determine Old Timing Clock. In the early part of the 20th century, pigeons were transported to release sites in horse-drawn carriages, but today huge articulated lorries with all modern conveniences for both pigeons and owners transport thousands of birds to a single race. It is common for pigeons to fail to return home after a race, with large numbers of birds falling prey to exhaustion, weather conditions and birds of prey.

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Many of the survivors join feral flocks in urban areas and integrate quickly with feral birds. Some experts believe that the considerable numbers of racing birds lost annually to feral flocks has a significant impact on the size of feral flocks and pigeon-related problems in urban areas. A major disaster befell tens of thousands of racing pigeons released from Nantes in France as part of a race held to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Racing Pigeon Association in England A champion racing pigeon can be released miles away from its home and still return within the day.

It is believed that the instinct to return to a mate and nest is a powerful motivator, but this does not explain the ability to travel such extraordinary distances and at such speeds. An adult pigeon in good condition can achieve average speeds of up to kmph on short to middle distance flights and fly at an altitude of 6, feet. A year study carried out by Oxford University concluded that pigeons use roads and motorways to navigate, in some cases even changing direction at motorway junctions.

Pigeon racing saw a massive increase in popularity at the end of the First Great War, and between the two wars the sport was enjoyed by entire families. Prior to it was impossible to calculate the number of members of the RPRA , but in a single member subscription system was brought in, allowing a true assessment of the membership for the first time.

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About Shirley Raye Redmond. Shirley Raye Redmond is the author of several "sweet" romance novels and dozens of children's books. Many of her titles have won both national and regional awards. She liv Shirley Raye Redmond is the author of several "sweet" romance novels and dozens of children's books.

She lives with her family in New Mexico. Other books in the series.

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