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The Carrier or English Carrier is a breed of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding. [1] Carriers, along with other varieties of domesticated pigeons , are all descendants of the rock dove ( Columba livia ).
With training, pigeons can carry up to 75 g (2.5 oz) on their backs. As early as 1903, the German apothecary Julius Neubronner used carrier pigeons to both receive and deliver urgent medication. [37] In 1977, a similar system of 30 carrier pigeons was set up for the transport of laboratory specimens between two English hospitals.
A carrier pigeon's job was dangerous. Nearby, enemy soldiers often tried to shoot down pigeons, knowing that released birds were carrying important messages. Some of these pigeons became quite famous amongst the infantrymen for whom they worked. One pigeon, named “Spike”, flew 52 missions without receiving a single wound. [2]
There are many fancy or ornamental breeds of pigeons: among them are the English carrier pigeons, a variety of pigeon with prominent wattles and an almost vertical stance, the Duchess breed, which has as a prominent characteristic feet that are completely covered by a sort of fan of feathers, the fantails with a fan of tail feathers like a ...
Cher Ami was one of 600 English-bred birds donated to the Pigeon Service on May 20, 1918. It is unknown exactly when Cher Ami hatched, though it was likely in late March or early April of 1918. Cher Ami's identification band is stamped with "NURP 18 EAD 615," meaning he was a "National Union Racing Pigeon" and born in 1918.
The passenger pigeon or wild pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) is an extinct species of pigeon that was endemic to North America. Its common name is derived from the French word passager , meaning "passing by", due to the migratory habits of the species.
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Then-Brussels Mayor Adolphe Max [106] at the 1931 dedication ceremony of this statue said that carrier pigeons perhaps made the greatest and most painful contribution to the victory and liberation of Belgium during the First World War. The metal statue depicts a pigeon landing on a topless woman's outstretched arm. Monument to Carrier Pigeons [107]