EXPLORING NATURE: PIGEONS

Pigeons have played a major role in warfare through the ages.

Egyptian pharaohs used them and so did King Cyrus of Persia.

During two World Wars, pigeons were often sent to command posts behind the lines with urgent messages tied to their legs. Both Allied and Axis forces used the fast-flying birds.

The Germans used pigeons to carry time-delayed lightweight cameras on reconnaissance missions and the English countered by releasing trained peregrine falcons to take out the pigeons.

If a pigeon was knocked down, but survived the attack, it became a prisoner of war, just like its human counterpart.

In the final days of World War I, there was one particular pigeon that became a true hero. Known as Cher Ami, this bird lost a leg delivering a critical 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 the medal and the stuffed Cher Ami are now on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Another pigeon named “GI Joe” was awarded the Dickin Medal in 1946, the only American war pigeon to win a medal. Joe carried a message which prevented a bombing and saved the lives of a thousand Allied soldiers in Italy.

Scientists are still not sure how pigeons know how to return home after being released hundreds of miles away.

Just another example of why calling someone a “bird brain” is actually quite a compliment.