by Ellan Lawler

Despite a recent name change to Rock pigeon, ordinary city pigeons are not a species that attracts the attention or admiration of birders. But in many different arenas – scientific, sports and military– pigeons have proved their mettle and demonstrated amazing abilities.

Although not as popular as in the past, pigeon racing is still practiced in may cities across the US. The American Racing Pigeon Union boasts 700 affiliated clubs that regularly hold races in which pigeons, released from a specific location, find their way back to their home lofts. They often travel distances of 300 or more miles and can even find their way after being released from locations they’ve never visited before. This amazing homing ability has been recognized by humans for millennia; it wasn’t just by chance that Noah released a dove to bring back news of dry land to the ark.

Armies throughout history have also tapped pigeons for their message carrying abilities. In World War I, the US Army Signal Corps obtained 600 carrier pigeons that it used to transmit messages in the field. The most famous of these intrepid flyers was Cher Ami who is on display in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Flying through heavy enemy fire and receiving a shot to the breast, Cher Ami delivered his message saving the “Lost Battalion” which was surrounded by enemy troops and under fire from their own artillery. In WW II, the first news of the D-Day invasion was carried across the English Channel by a pigeon called Paddy. Some of the first recognizance photos taken behind enemy lines were taken by pigeons carrying cameras attached to their breast muscles. Some countries, including Iraq, still employ pigeons in their armies today.

The navigational skills of pigeons (and of birds in general) have long fascinated scientists who have performed thousands of experiments with homing pigeons in the lab and field. Results indicate that homing pigeons have a number of skills they put to use as they find their way. Like many animals, they have deposits of magnetite in their brain which are thought to detect the earth’s weak electro-magnetic field much like a compass needle. Pigeons also use a number of visual cues, in particular the sun as a guide. Studies in another unloved species, starlings, suggest that birds use their internal biological clock to compensate for the sun’s apparent movement across the sky during the day.

Rock pigeons also have excellent abilities to distinguish and remember various landmarks. When tested with slides of various buildings in Oxford, England, pigeons were able to remember the ones associated with a reward for long periods of time. Other studies have shown pigeons capable of distinguishing the various letters of the alphabet and even the painting styles of Monet and Picasso. In the latter study, pigeons not only recognized paintings they had already been shown, but were able to correctly classify new (to them) paintings by these artists and also paintings by other impressionist and cubist artists! Although less well substantiated, pigeons may also use their sense of smell and ability to hear infrasounds (very low frequency sounds) as guides when they home.

It all goes to show that even the most common and unassuming of species often have very remarkable qualities that add another dimension to our appreciation of birds.