PIGEONS

See Also: BIRDS; WEATHER; MENU

Originally, pigeons were a species of coastal bird. With time, they extended their range inland. London's buildings provided them with a substitute for cliffs.

The 1^st Duke of Wellington had a pigeon loft in Nine Elms. In 1845 one of his birds was released on Ichaboe Island off the Namibian coast. 55 days later its dead body was found a mile away from the loft. It had flown 5400 miles.

Charles Darwin believed that domestic pigeons might furnish a means of backing his argument about evolution.

Dickin Pigeons

Maria Dickin (1870-1951) had founded the People s Dispensary for Sick Animals in 1917 to offer affordable veterinary care. In 1943, during the Second World War, she established the Dickin Medal both to raise the charity s profile and to honour the contribution that animals were making to the war effort. The military were supportive of the idea because it an award of the honour was almost always a good news story. Homing pigeons dominated the roll of honour.

The first one went to the pigeon Winkie. She had been part of the crew of a Beaufort bomber. After it had crashed into the North Sea, she escaped before a message could be attached to her and had flown back to her home loft. However, her owner noted the time of her arrival. This information, when combined her probably flying speed, the known route of the raft, its flying speed, and time at which had taken off, enabled a probable crash zone to be identified. An S.O.S. had been out before the catch. A rescue mission was dispatched and the aircaftmen were rescued.

In 1943 The 56^th London Division captured Calvi Vecchia in Italy in advance of schedule. However, the town was due to be bombed by the United States Air Force. Radio communication was not possible. G.I. Joe, a pigeon, was released and managed to get the message through in time. Up to a thousand or so lives were saved.

Website: www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/animal-awards-programme/pdsa-dickin-medal

Operation Columba

M.I.14D s Operation Columba arranged for canisters with parachutes to be dropped from R.A.F. planes as they flew over Belgium during the night. The vessels contained homing pigeons, that once released would return to their home lofts in England, and a questionnaire. Ordinary people would find the canister and then write what they knew about Nazi military activity in their locality. Only a minority of the pigeons made the homeward flight as some were handed in and others were eaten. However, the intelligence that they brought with them was of use. Message 37 was of such a high quality that it was shown to Churchill since it reinforced his belief that there was a spirit of resistance across Europe. In all 16,000 pigeons were dropped.

See Also: THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Organisations

The British Homing World Show

The British Homing World Show has been described as the Crufts of pigeon-keeping.

The Royal Racing Association

In 2024 it was reported that there had been an increase in young people taking up pigeon racing. A factor in this had been the development of shared lofts. These enabled individuals to have just one or two birds. This made the sport cheaper for them to participate in and therefore more accessible.

The Royal Family

In 1886 King Leopold II gave Queen Victoria some racing pigeons. The royal family developed an interest in pigeon racing. The birds travelled to races in boxes that bore the royal crest and wore the monarch s cypher on their legs.

In 2024 it was reported that King Charles III had declined to succeed his mother as the patron of the National Flying Club and the Royal Pigeon Racing Association. Thereby, King Charles III ended his family s association with the sport.

Threaded Amputation

The reason why pigeons frequently lose a foot is because they move about the ground with a form of shuffle whereas most other birds hop. As a result, pieces of thread often become wrapped around their legs. They have no means of removing these. If the threads do not fall off they become increasingly tight, eventually killing off the blood supply to the foot below and thereby causing the foot s flesh to die. It will rot and then fall off.

Trafalgar Square

In 1996 it was reported that the police were investigating the mysterious disappearance of hundreds of pigeons from Trafalgar Square. A possible cause was a man whom passers-by had seen trapping the birds in baited boxes. It was speculated that he might have been selling the pigeons carcasses to restaurants.

One theory forwarded at the time was that the warmth of the previous summer and autumn had led to a larger crop of berries and nuts than usual. This meant that wood pigeons were able to feed themselves in woodland. Therefore, they did not need to break cover to feed in the fields. Ergo, they were less likely to be shot. This had created a rise in the price that restaurants were prepared to pay for pigeon meat, and thus an incentive for a bit of urban poaching.

In 2003 a 50 fine for feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square came into force. Subsequently, it was reported that the number of pigeons in square had been reduced from 4000 to 200.

Location: Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DS (purple, yellow)

See Also: MEAT; TRAFALGAR SQUARE

David Backhouse 2024