250 THE PASSENGER PIGEON IN PENNSYLVANIA 



magnified by long-continued breeding and selection for 

 this point alone. 



All sorts of theories have been advanced as to how a 

 homer finds its way, extraordinary sight, electrical in- 

 fluences, and so on, and so on. It would seem, however, 

 that it is simply that mysterious sense direction, com- 

 mon to all birds, strengthened and developed by "the 

 intensive training to which the young homer is sub- 

 jected." One important part of this is, that, from the 

 very first, the bird learns well its home surroundings. 

 To continue : 



When free flying is begun, 400 miles is the greatest 

 distance birds of the year usually are asked to accom- 

 plish, but exceptional youngsters occasionally have 

 done 600. Five hundred miles is the most popular 

 long-distance race for old birds, but contests up to 

 1,000 miles are flown yearly. Eight hundred miles 

 were accomplished in one day by a famous bird, but 

 distances over 500 miles usually require more than a 

 single day. 



The speed at which homing pigeons fly is one of the 

 first questions that comes to the mind of the inquiring 

 layman. This varies greatly with the distance, the 

 shorter distances naturally being flown in much faster 

 time. Flights of 100 miles with a favoring wind, often 

 are made at the rate of a mile a minute, or even better. 

 Recent tests under the supervision of the Signal Corps 

 showed that field messages sent by means of homing 

 pigeons were delivered in much shorter time than by 

 automobile or motorcycle. 



