"Carrier pigeon" redirects here. For the breed of show pigeon, see English Carrier pigeon.
A messenger pigeon on a house roofA group of homing pigeons in flightA modern day racing pigeon wearing an electronic timing ring
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distances. The rock dove has an innate homing ability,[1] meaning that it will generally return to its nest using magnetoreception.[2] Flights as long as 1,800 km (1,100 miles) have been recorded by birds in competitive pigeon racing.[3] Their average flying speed over moderate 965 km (600 miles) distances is around 97 km/h (60 miles per hour)[4] and speeds of up to 160 km/h (100 miles per hour) have been observed in top racers for short[clarification needed] distances.
Because of this skill, domesticated pigeons were used to carry messages as messenger pigeons. They are usually referred to as "pigeon post" if used in post service, or "war pigeon" during wars. Until the introduction of telephones, homing pigeons were used commercially to deliver communication.
Messenger pigeons are often incorrectly categorized as English Carrier pigeons, an ancient breed of fancy pigeons. They were used historically to send messages but lost the homing instinct long ago. Modern-day homing pigeons (homers) or racing pigeons (racing homers) do have "Carrier blood" in them because they are in part descendants of the old-style Carriers. This is one reason why they are still commonly but erroneously called "carrier pigeons".[citation needed]
^Blechman, Andrew (2007). Pigeons-The fascinating saga of the world's most revered and reviled bird. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 978-0-7022-3641-9. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008.
^Levi, Wendell (1977). The Pigeon. Sumter, S.C.: Levi Publishing Co. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-85390-013-9.
^Walcott, Charles (1996). "Pigeon Homing: Observations,copup and Confusions" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 199 (Pt 1): 21–27. doi:10.1242/jeb.199.1.21. PMID 9317262. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
^Andrew (2011). "Cairo's Fancy Fliers". Saudi Aramco World. Vol. 62, no. 2. Aramco Services Company. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
The homingpigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) derived from the wild rock...
Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homingpigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time...
Due to their homing ability, pigeons have been used to deliver messages, including during the world wars. Despite this, city pigeons, which are feral...
Homingpigeons have long played an important role in war. Due to their homing ability, speed, and altitude, they were often used as military messengers...
Pigeon post is the use of homingpigeons to carry messages. Pigeons are effective as messengers due to their natural homing abilities. The pigeons are...
Domestication of pigeons led to significant use of homingpigeons for communication, including war pigeons, such as the 32 pigeons who were awarded the...
King pigeon American Giant Runt Strasser pigeon Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fancy pigeons. Domestic pigeonHomingpigeon List of pigeon breeds...
(French for "dear friend", in the masculine) was a male homingpigeon who had been donated by the pigeon fanciers of Britain for use by the U.S. Army Signal...
of homingpigeons for communication and reconnaissance purposes. During World War II, the force consisted of 3,150 soldiers and 54,000 war pigeons, which...
joke proposal to carry Internet Protocol (IP) traffic by birds such as homingpigeons. IP over Avian Carriers was initially described in RFC 1149 issued by...
colour). Today, the English Carrier is strictly a show pigeon, and is not the modern homingpigeon. Charles Darwin wrote of the Carrier in The Variation...
of fancy pigeon. These pigeons are kept and bred for their aerial performance and for reproduction. Racing homers are a type of homingpigeon, trained...
moving object Homing (biology), the inherent ability of an animal to navigate towards an original location through unfamiliar areas Homingpigeon, a variety...
weddings and funerals. However, releases usually use homingpigeons, as Barbary doves lack the homing instinct and will die if released into the wild. Albinism...
Julius Neubronner, who also used pigeons to deliver medications. A homingpigeon was fitted with an aluminium breast harness to which a lightweight time-delayed...
Helmet Pigeons, a group of pigeon breeds Hessian Pouter (D/317) Hódmezövásárhelyer Show Crest Tumbler (H/959) Holle Cropper (NL/331) HomingPigeon Horseman...
Numerous breeds of fancy pigeons of all sizes, colours, and types have been bred. Domesticated pigeons are used as homingpigeons as well as food and pets...
species. In addition pigeons have unusual, perhaps unique, abilities to learn routes back to their home from long distances. This homing behaviour is different...
Fleissner and colleagues found iron-based receptors in the upper beaks of homingpigeons, both seemingly connected to the animal's trigeminal nerve. Research...
they rely on the Sun when possible. William Tinsley Keeton showed that homingpigeons could similarly make use of a range of navigational cues, including...
catch Yankee Doodle Pigeon, a carrier pigeon who carries secret messages (hence the name of the show's theme song "Stop The Pigeon"). The title is a reference...
quantified in the homingpigeon which has particularly good long distance navigation skills. The precise relevance of such signals for the pigeon is still unknown...
(given name), an American masculine given name Tyke (pigeon), a Second World War homingpigeon which was awarded the Dickin Medal for gallantry in 1943...
to select, focus and simultaneously engage multiple targets. Homingpigeon Infrared homing Missile guidance This article incorporates public domain material...
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