i BIRDS AS MESSENGERS 



IN the " Pigeon Post" we have the most 

 obvious example of service rendered to 

 man by birds during the war. The 

 HOMING PIGEON, whose speed of flight has 

 been estimated at from 880 to 2,000 yards 

 per minute according to weather conditions, 

 has naturally played an important part. 

 The first use of PIGEONS as message carriers 

 is wrapped in the mystery of antiquity. 

 Solomon is alleged to have transmitted orders 

 throughout his kingdom by means of HOMING 

 PIGEONS, the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and 

 Romans employed these birds in their armies, 

 and the victory at the siege of Modena(43 B.C.) 

 has been attributed to PIGEONS. After the 

 conquest of Gaul, relays of PIGEONS carried 

 the news to Rome, as, in later days, the 

 news of the victory at Waterloo was brought 

 to England by PIGEONS some days in ad- 

 vance of the official courier (Country Life, 



3 



