Utility and Economy of Birds 



which are believed to have been killed and 

 eaten by the hungry German soldiers (Daily 

 Express, 25.1.19). 



Although on the Continent spies were 

 arrested for making use of this medium to 

 convey messages, no such cases appear to 

 have been reported in this country. In this 

 connection it is amusing to note that the 

 recovery of birds ringed for the investiga- 

 tion of migration was often regarded as 

 suspicious ; a BLACK-HEADED GULL, ringed 

 "M VIBORG: DENMARK/' which was shot 

 in Suffolk in December 1916, was forwarded 

 to the military authorities, who passed the 

 ring to the Admiralty with the following 

 comment : " This looks as if addressee had 

 been trying to train a GULL as a carrier to 

 England : this has often been tried, but is 

 generally considered unreliable/' 



HOMING PIGEONS were extensively used 

 by our fleet, and it is recorded that Skipper 

 Thomas Crisp, V.C., who died at the wheel 

 under fire from a German submarine, lived 

 long enough to despatch a message by 

 PIGEON : through the timely arrival of the 



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