Pet Bird History

There are often pigeons pictured with Kamadeva, one of the oldest Hindu love gods. There are also pigeons associated with Christianity. Christian religion tells the story of Noah who sent a pigeon three times to look for a dry piece of land, and then the pigeon arrived back with mud on its feet. Pigeons informed the home front on victories and defeats of kings and generals. Napoleon's defeat in the battle of Waterloo was reported to England by pigeons.

During the siege of Paris of 1870, pigeons brought 150,000 official letters and a million private letters into Paris during those four months.

At war, pigeons proved to be a valuable service. They served during two World Wars, delivering messages that saved hundreds of lives. In fact, they had a 98 percent rate in their missions during World War II. Flight speeds in pigeons can reach 50 to 60 miles an hour, and their messaging system is not affected by today's electronic jamming. In fact, pigeons are reportedly still in service by the Chinese, French, Israeli, Iraqi and Swiss armies.

During wartime, carrier pigeons were used by all sides to transport messages from point to point. Pigeons were routinely deployed from the front lines to carry status reports back to headquarters.

Although the telephone was the preferred method of communication, once troops had moved forward (or even retreated) beyond existing lines, there was a delay while fresh telephone lines were laid. In addition, pigeons were commonly used to report progress on battle actions. During World War I some actions were undertaken after forces were informed by photos taken by military pigeons.