Fancy Pigeons

What if I told you that you've been wrong about pigeons your entire life? That Bert's honest enthusiasm for the little birds would be better emulated instead than mocked. What if I told you they were beautiful and smart and delicious creatures, and not vermin or rats with wings?

Well, I'd be half wrong. Pigeons are definitely pests and vermin, but it's really our own fault. The common pigeon was originally called a Rock Dove, and was a domestic animal kept mostly for meat. Pigeons were handy urban livestock because they needed less space than chickens, and made much less noise. Here's a delicious looking pigeon recipe from a school cookbook from the early 1900s.

Over the years, pigeons were bred into some astounding shapes and colours, many of which are still being bred by pigeon fanciers to this day. With so many pigeons being kept in our cities, a few were bound to escape. Their feral offspring are the pigeons that poop on our statues and shiver in our gutters.

So pigeons are delicious. Pigeons are pretty. Pigeons are... war heroes?

In World War I a battalion of the US 77th Division were stranded behind enemy lines, surrounded by German troops  The allied artillery had no clue they were there, and were shelling the area indiscriminately, as is typically the artillery's wont. They attempted to send a message by pigeon three times. The first two were shot out of the air by the German troops  The third one, Cher Ami, was seemingly shot down as well. But somehow this little guy took off again, and made it the 25 miles back to base in just over an hour. This is an especially good time, considering that he was shot in the chest, that he lost his eye, and that his right leg was dangling by just one tendon. What made him continue on? Was it blind instinct? Duty? Patriotism? No one will ever know for sure (It was blind instinct, 100% for sure), but this plucky little guy made sure his message got through:

"WE ARE ALONG THE ROAD PARALELL 276.4. OUR ARTILLERY IS DROPPING A BARRAGE DIRECTLY ON US. FOR HEAVENS SAKE STOP IT"

For heaven's sake, you guys! Stop messing around!

For more information about pigeons:

• Pigeon Raising, by Alice McLeod - a manual on pigeon keeping from 1913
• Fancy Pigeons, by JC Lyell -  a collection of the many beautiful varieties of fancy pigeon.
• Outside - just go outside. There are plenty of them.