Homing pigeons–which are pigeons trained by humans to deliver messages, usually written on light paper and taped to their leg, over long distances–are thought to have originated in ancient Egypt or Persia as early as the second millennium BCE.
For instance, it is believed that the ancient Greeks used homing pigeons to relay the results of the Olympic Games to participating city-states. There is also evidence that pigeons played a key role in delivering messages during the siege of Mutina by Marc Antony in 44 BCE.
Homing pigeons can be trained and deployed in various ways, but the most common is this: pigeons are raised in a source location and this location is “imprinted” upon them by the time they are about six weeks old. They are then caged and carted to a messaging location, from which, when released, they instinctually return to the source location. It is in this way that pigeons reliably carry messages across long distances–sometimes traveling hundreds of miles.
Here are three examples of homing pigeons “guiding” the course of history through their instinctual flights.
1. ‘Cherry Pigeons’ Used In The Levant
There is evidence of a sophisticated network of messaging pigeons in the Levant during the time of the crusades and after. For instance, the English Naval chaplain Henry Teonge (1620–1690) wrote in his diary of a regular “pigeon post” being used by merchants to transmit news between Iskenderun (in present-day Turkey) and Aleppo (in present-day Syria)–a distance of over 60 miles.
One unique application of the pigeon post was recounted by the Egyptian-Arab historian Al-Maqrizi. He wrote that, in the 900s, a powerful caliph of the Fatimid dynasty in northern Africa requested that 600 Lebanese cherries be couriered to him via pigeon post to satiate his appetite. His officials coordinated the release of 600 pigeons from Baalbek, each carrying a small pouch containing a single cherry for the Caliph. The birds traveled over 400 miles to Cairo, making this possibly the earliest recorded instance of airmail delivery.
2. Reuters’ Use Of Pigeons To Send The News
Paul Julius Reuter (1816-1899) was the founder of the Reuters news agency and an early adopter of electrical telegraphy to transmit the world’s news. For instance, he was among the first to use the newly built telegraph cable connecting London and Paris to deliver stock quotations internationally.
Prior to moving to London, Reuter owned a news agency in Aachen, Germany and used homing pigeons to carry messages between Brussels and Aachen, helping him bridge the gap between Berlin and Paris where the telegraph lines had not yet been connected. Faster than postal trains, the pigeons allowed Reuter quicker access to financial news from the Paris stock exchange. Once the telegraph network was completed, the use of pigeons became obsolete.
3. Pigeon Post: Great Barrier Island To Auckland
The pigeon post that connected New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island to the mainland is a fascinating chapter in the country’s postal history. This unique communication system was used in the early 20th century when the island lacked a direct telegraph or reliable postal service.
Great Barrier Island, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) off the coast of Auckland, relied on a fleet of trained homing pigeons to carry messages to and from the mainland. The pigeons were trained to fly between the island and a pigeon loft in Auckland, where the messages would be collected. Small canisters containing written notes were attached to the pigeons’ legs. The birds would then navigate their way back to their home lofts, delivering news, letters, and sometimes even official communications.
This service was faster than waiting for a ship to arrive and was vital for urgent messages. It was one of the last pigeon post systems in the world, eventually becoming obsolete with the advent of modern forms of communication.
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