Have you ever seen one of those movies where the king or some other guy ties a note the the foot of a messenger pigeon and then releases the bird and the bird soars into the sky and finds the intended recipient of the message and you say "Wow, now that's a smart bird?" Have you ever wonder how pigeons are able to carry messages so accurately and not just divert and go stop to eat some corn and end up being the dinner of an hawk? Well, the truth is that not all messenger pigeons actually make it to the recipient. But let's first take a look at this humble messenger bird and learn how they are able to deliver messages.
How Homing Pigeons Deliver Messages
There is no GPS Navigation system built into homing pigeons why they are able to deliver messages. Messenger pigeons are often called homing pigeons. The reason why they are called homing pigeon is because they will almost always return home. So let's say you are the king of Castle A and you you send your Knights to raid and plunder the King in Castle B. You want to get message of the victory or defeat quickly to plan your next move. So you send one of your knight with a homing pigeon which was grown, cared for and bred at your castle. In battle when King's army A defeats King army B. The knight simply attaches a note to the foot of the messenger pigeon which will simply fly home because it just wants to return to the place it knows. Then viola! you got mail.
How Long Can Pigeons Fly To Deliver a Message?
Don't take these little birds for granted. They are capable flyers and can cover much ground at good speeds. Pigeons can fly anywhere between 600 to 700 miles in a day and can reach flight speeds of 93Mph. The longest recorded flight of a messenger pigeon was in the 19th century, taking 55 days between Africa and England and covering 7000 miles.
Not All Mails Are Delivered by Homing Pigeons
You would think that this is a full proof way to deliver messages, but just like using a computer today, not all messages will get delivered. For the case of computers, there is line breakage, hacking, viruses and all that which may disrupt mail delivery. For the pigeon it is much worst. Many homing pigeons end up becoming a tasty treat for predators. especially the hawk and of course men. Back in the medevil times, hawks were also trained to intercept mails being sent by homing pigeons. A messenger pigeon had to be fast, as back then army's knew what pigeons meant and many times would get arrowed down to see if the pigeon had a message.
How Homing Pigeons Deliver Messages
There is no GPS Navigation system built into homing pigeons why they are able to deliver messages. Messenger pigeons are often called homing pigeons. The reason why they are called homing pigeon is because they will almost always return home. So let's say you are the king of Castle A and you you send your Knights to raid and plunder the King in Castle B. You want to get message of the victory or defeat quickly to plan your next move. So you send one of your knight with a homing pigeon which was grown, cared for and bred at your castle. In battle when King's army A defeats King army B. The knight simply attaches a note to the foot of the messenger pigeon which will simply fly home because it just wants to return to the place it knows. Then viola! you got mail.
How Long Can Pigeons Fly To Deliver a Message?
Don't take these little birds for granted. They are capable flyers and can cover much ground at good speeds. Pigeons can fly anywhere between 600 to 700 miles in a day and can reach flight speeds of 93Mph. The longest recorded flight of a messenger pigeon was in the 19th century, taking 55 days between Africa and England and covering 7000 miles.
Not All Mails Are Delivered by Homing Pigeons
You would think that this is a full proof way to deliver messages, but just like using a computer today, not all messages will get delivered. For the case of computers, there is line breakage, hacking, viruses and all that which may disrupt mail delivery. For the pigeon it is much worst. Many homing pigeons end up becoming a tasty treat for predators. especially the hawk and of course men. Back in the medevil times, hawks were also trained to intercept mails being sent by homing pigeons. A messenger pigeon had to be fast, as back then army's knew what pigeons meant and many times would get arrowed down to see if the pigeon had a message.
Where To Get Messenger Pigeons?
It all takes training, training and more training. To train your pigeon to be a homing or messenger pigeon will take some time and money. It will take money because you may have to purchase items to begin the training. You will also be using your transportation of which ever means, whether it be bus or car.
Now with that out of the way, let's take a look at:
Items you will need to train your pigeon to be a messenger bird.
Process To Train Your Pigeon
Now that you have made a messenger out of your pigeon, you can pull the trick of taking the bird out and tell your friend or spouse that you will be going on a trip and will be sending him/her a message but by pigeon! Assuming the person lives in that pigeon coop!
It all takes training, training and more training. To train your pigeon to be a homing or messenger pigeon will take some time and money. It will take money because you may have to purchase items to begin the training. You will also be using your transportation of which ever means, whether it be bus or car.
Now with that out of the way, let's take a look at:
Items you will need to train your pigeon to be a messenger bird.
- Small Cage
- Marker (To be placed round bird's leg to verify that the pigeon returned is yours)
Process To Train Your Pigeon
- Mark the leg of the bird
- Remove the Bird from Coop and place in small cage
- Carry the bird about a mile and half away
- Release the bird
- Verify that the bird has returned to the coop
- Repeat the process but you must increase the distance as you go along. (2 miles, 5 miles, 8 miles, 10 miles etc.
- Repeat process until you have a full fledged messenger pigeon.
Now that you have made a messenger out of your pigeon, you can pull the trick of taking the bird out and tell your friend or spouse that you will be going on a trip and will be sending him/her a message but by pigeon! Assuming the person lives in that pigeon coop!
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