Hello Hivers in the Feathered Friends Community. Greetings to one and all. I'm here again to show the progress on my bird watching hobby. Normally, I wouldn't be aware of these creatures being around me because I would always be preoccupied with the task I had on hand. Before, when I walk, I usually look ahead and not mind the scenery. But now, I look up and down, far and wide, phone camera ready to capture anything that could be worth sharing with the community. Big change in yours truly ha ha.
Last week, I had to go to the bank to withdraw some money deposited by a client for his insurance premium payment. My car was parked just about a kilometer away from the bank so I decided to walk instead. Besides, I had a good and shaded parking space which I didn't want to give up if I take my car. While walking, I reminded myself to look up and to my amazement, these pigeons were perched along the electric wires running along the street. Were they there all the time?
Pigeons are really amazing birds. Among all types of birds, they seem to be the friendliest. They are not afraid of people and in fact if you throw some biscuits or chips on the pavement, they immediately swoop down and feed on these right beside you. No fear. They are also cute birds with round chubby bodies and colorful feathers. Some are white and apparently are a rarity with this species.
I did a little bit of research on them and there's an article I found that might interest you. It's titled "15 Amazing Facts About Pigeons." You can click on the link here for those who would like to read this. Going through the list, I found 2 facts that attracted my attention. They were listed as facts number 4 and 5 in the article.
Fact Number 4:
THEY CAN FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO THE NEST FROM 1300 MILES AWAY.
The birds can do this even if they've been transported in isolation—with no visual, olfactory, or magnetic clues—while scientists rotate their cages so they don't know what direction they're traveling in. How they do this is a mystery, but people have been exploiting the pigeon's navigational skills since at least 3000 BCE, when ancient peoples would set caged pigeons free and follow them to nearby land.
Their navigational skills also make pigeons great long-distance messengers. Sports fans in ancient Greece are said to have used trained pigeons to carry the results of the Ancient Olympics. Further east, Genghis Khan stayed in touch with his allies and enemies alike through a pigeon-based postal network.
Fact Number 5:
THEY SAVED THOUSANDS OF HUMAN LIVES DURING WORLD WARS I AND II.
Pigeons' homing talents continued to shape history during the 20th century. In both World Wars, rival nations had huge flocks of pigeon messengers. (America alone had 200,000 at its disposal in WWII.) By delivering critical updates, the avians saved thousands of human lives. One racing bird named Cher Ami completed a mission that led to the rescue of 194 stranded U.S. soldiers on October 4, 1918.
When I was younger, I used to watch movies that showed people using pigeons as messengers and they were usually called "homing pigeons." I thought that this was an exaggeration and was just a fantasy played up by Hollywood. But apparently not. There is truth to the legend. Now I know.
As a parting shot to this post below is a photo I took of a woman feeding some pigeons. They really are very tame and gentle creatures. Wonderful birds.
(All pictures are mine.)
