Famous Pigeons

Cher Ami: Meaning "Dear Friend" this pigeon is probably one of the most famous war pigeons ever. It even had a movie debut in "The Lost Battalion". This pigeon saved a battalion of men by sending a message to their own artillery telling them that they where firing on their position. Even after being shot in the leg and the chest! This bird survived through out WW1 and long after. Cher Ami was awarded the distinguished service cross.

GI Joe: This pigeon could fly (At an average of) 60 mph! It saved one-thousand means lives during world war 2 and received Dickin and Victoria red cross.

Pigeon Facts:

Pigeons mate for life.

A grown pigeon has about 10,000 feathers.

Pigeons have been known to live for more than30-years.

In the 17th century, King George I of England, decreed all pigeon droppings to be property of the Crown—and the “lofts” were policed to enforce the law! (Pigeon manure was used in making gunpowder)

With the ability to beat its wings up to ten times per second, and maintain a heart rate of 600 beats per minute for up to 16-hours without rest, the racing pigeon is the unequalled athlete of the air!

Despite enemy fire, pigeons achieved a 98% success rate in missions flown in WW II—often with mortal injuries to themselves.

The French, Swiss, Israeli, Iraqi and Chinese armies still use homing pigeons today! Pigeons proved valuable in the Gulf War, as their messaging was not affected by electronic jamming.

The pigeon has the rare ability for a large bird to be able to fly nearly straight up.

Studies conducted by B.F. Skinner at Harvard showed that pigeons have a visual memory that can store at least 300 objects or images indefinitely!

The pharmaceutical industry in Australia “employed” pigeons trained to identify anomalies in pills and capsules on a moving conveyor, and remove them from production. The birds did outstanding work but authorities quickly put an end to the practice

Racing Pigeons routinely maintain flight speeds of 50 to 60 mph!

Advanced studies at the University of Montana conclude: “Pound for pound, Columba Livia (the pigeon) is one of the smartest, most physically adept creatures in the animal kingdom.”

Pigeons in the news

Pigeons planned to be used as bombs

The UK government is planning on starting up its use of pigeons in the military, except this time they are planned to be used as bombs. As many know, during World War 1 and 2 pigeons where used as messengers and carried tupes with slips of paper in them. "A thousand pigeons, each with a two ounce explosive capsule, landed at intervals on a specific target might be a seriously inconvenient surprise." They are planning to use pigeons as living bombs.