1. Unless forcibly separated, pigeons mate for life.
2. Male pigeons have the rare ability to lactate, producing milk for the babies
just like the females do!
3. Newborn pigeons weaned on the “pigeon milk” of both parents, double their
weight in the first two days!
4. A grown pigeon has nearly 10,000 feathers.
5. Pigeons have been known to live over 30-years!
6. In the 17th century, King George I of England, decreed all pigeon droppings
to be property of the Crown—and the “lofts” were policed to enforce the law!
(Pigeon manure was used in making gunpowder)
7. With the ability to beat its wings up to ten times per second, and maintain a
heart rate of 600 beats per minute for up to 16-hours without rest, the racing
pigeon is the unequalled athlete of the air!
8. A famous WWI homing pigeon named “Cher Ami” finished his distinguished
career by delivering a vital message: The location of the famous “Lost
Battalion”. That mission alone is credited with saving nearly 200 human lives!
“Cher Ami” was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for his heroic
service. He died of his extensive battle wounds.
9. One WW II homing pigeon named “GI Joe” saved over 1000 allied soldiers
lives in a single mission! He was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent
of the Victoria Cross. His average speed on that flight was 60 mph!
10. Despite enemy fire, pigeons achieved a 98% success rate in missions flown in
WW II—often with mortal injuries to themselves.
11. The French, Swiss, Israeli, Iraqi and Chinese armies still use homing pigeons
today! Pigeons proved valuable in the Gulf War, as their messaging was not
affected by electronic jamming.
12. The pigeon has the rare ability for a large bird to be able to fly nearly straight
up.
13. Pigeons have been taught to use “tools” and were found to retain that
knowledge!
14. Studies conducted by B.F. Skinner at Harvard showed that pigeons have a
visual memory that can store at least 300 objects or images indefinitely!
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