Every single one of us has seen this innocent yet intelligent bird many times. People around the world keep pigeons as their pets and people are found to be very fond of this beautiful creature. Despite being so common, we seem to know very little about them. The Pigeonpedia helps us in this regard by providing the Wiki of Pigeon knowledge. Here are the few facts that will completely blow your mind.
The Earliest Domestic Bird
It is believed that the common city pigeon (Columbia Livia) is, if not earliest, one of the earliest domestic birds dated back to 4000-4500BC. Centuries back, it was used as a source of food.
A Bird that is Never Lost
Birds are pretty good at finding their home back, but pigeons take it to the next level. They possess remarkable navigational skills. According to the researchers, pigeons can find and fly back to their home from even 1300 miles. It means that they can fly back to their home even if it is a continent apart.
The Pigeons as Messengers
Their navigational skills also make pigeons great long-distance messengers. Pigeons have been used as messengers since 3000BC. From delivering the results of the Ancient Olympics to helping rulers like Genghis Khan to manage its allies all over the world to domestic and commercial letter pigeons have done it all.
The Pigeons as Saviors
Due to their services as messengers to human generations, pigeons have played a very vital role in saving lives. In the wars, they were used to inform people and soldiers about the incoming attacks, and in this way, they saved a lot of precious lives. The most important and famous name in this regard is of Cher Ami, a pigeon used in World War 1 for delivering messages which even after getting shot in the chest and losing a leg managed to deliver an important message that led to safe 194 battalion survivors, was awarded French Croix de Guerre with palm. The pigeons are believed to save thousands of precious life by delivering messages.
An Intelligent Creature
Many types of research have shown us that pigeons are remarkably capable.
- One study by researchers at the University of California Davis Medical Center suggests that given the right conditions, they’re as good at identifying cancers as doctors.
- Japanese psychologist Shigeru Watanabe and two colleagues earned an Ig Nobel Prize in 1995 for training pigeons to recognize the paintings of Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso and to distinguish between the painters in the lab settings.
- In a 2017 Current Biology study, researchers showed that pigeons understand space and time.
- In a 2016 study, scientists showed that pigeons could differentiate between strings of letters and actual words.
- In a life-or-death situation, some pigeons distract falcons with white rump feathers.
- According to a study by Scientists at Ruhr-University Bochum, pigeons are really good at multi-tasking.
