The Miraculous Carrier Pigeon

A few weeks ago I read for the first time about a war pigeon named Cher Ami. She was a carrier pigeon who served during World War I and saved 194 American lives by traveling 25 miles to deliver a vital message despite being severely wounded by enemy fire. Homing pigeons like Cher Ami that served during the war are descendants of the wild rock pigeon and are also known as homing pigeons. The story of what these pigeons did during the battle to save human life moved me so much that I wanted to learn more about their unique ability to navigate.

Unfortunately, scientists aren’t exactly sure how pigeons are able to navigate back to their home loft and what their foraging abilities actually entail. Researchers have theorized that his unique ability involves everything from being able to recognize the position and angle of the sun, to relying on the Earth’s magnetic field, and even a pigeon’s potential ability to detect low-frequency sounds or infrasound to find your way home. However, when it comes to how to train a carrier pigeon, there is a specific methodology.

It first starts with establishing a base location. Their home base is where they will be fed and watered and will stay most of the time. Their house is usually set up so that they can enter the loft when they return, however it does not allow them to leave at will. Food and water are also used as incentives to encourage the pigeon to travel from one place to another.

Racing pigeons generally begin training between 6 and 12 weeks of age. They are carried a short distance in a cage (a mile, for example) and released to return to the loft. Several attempts at the same distance are made over a week or so before the distance increases to 5 miles, 10 miles, and so on. Carrier pigeons have been known to return home from over 1,100 miles away.

Despite this tremendous ability to travel back to his home loft from great distances, this is only one of his impressive defining traits. A carrier pigeon was also used during the war due to its exceptional ability to cover such great distances with amazing speed. Average flight speed is said to be around 60mph with speed bursts up to 90mph and above.

Pigeons are another fascinating species in the world of bird watching and their contribution to service during war and peace is miraculous and uplifting. I find it incredible that we have yet to find the answer to exactly how they can focus in a home location and I look forward to future discoveries that shed more light on their incredible abilities.