X-Nico

2 unusual facts about Homing pigeon


Homing pigeon

Possibly the first regular air mail service in the world was Mr. Howie's Pigeon-Post service from the Auckland New Zealand suburb of Newton to Great Barrier Island, starting in 1896.

A Pigeon and a Boy, by Meir Shalev (English translation by Evan Fallenberg), a historical novel about the use of pigeons by the Israel Defense Forces (and the Haganah before Israel was founded in 1948) in the defence of Israel when it was first founded, and in the defence of the Jewish community before Israeli independence


Cher Ami

Cher Ami (French for "dear friend", in the masculine) was a homing pigeon which had been donated by the pigeon fanciers of Britain for use by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France during World War I and had been trained by American pigeoneers.

IP over Avian Carriers

In computer networking, IP over Avian Carriers (IPoAC) is a humorously-intended proposal to carry Internet Protocol (IP) traffic by birds such as homing pigeons.


see also

Crusade for Freedom

Leaping Lena was a homing pigeon, reported lost in early August, 1954 during a routine flight in West Germany, and then found again bearing an anti-Communist note signed "Unbowed Pilsen." She was flown to the United States, and treated as a Cold War hero.