Homing pigeon

"Carrier pigeon" redirects here. For the breed of show pigeon, see English Carrier pigeon.
A messenger pigeon on a house roof
A group of homing pigeons in flight
A modern day racing pigeon wearing an electronic timing ring

The homing pigeon is a variety of domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica), selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distances. Because of this skill, homing pigeons were used to carry messages, a practice referred to as "pigeon post". Until the introduction of telephones, they were used commercially to deliver communication; when used during wars, they were called "war pigeons".

The homing pigeon is also called a mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, and colloquially a homer. Perhaps most commonly, the homing pigeon is called a carrier pigeon;[1][2][3][4][5][6] this nomenclature can be confusing, though, since it is distinct from the English carrier, an ancient breed of fancy pigeon. Modern-day homing pigeons do have English carrier blood in them because they are in part descendants of the old-style carriers.[citation needed]

The domestic pigeon is derived from the wild rock dove (Columba livia sspp.); the rock dove has an innate homing ability,[7] meaning that it will generally return to its nest using magnetoreception.[8] Flights as long as 1,800 km (1,100 miles) have been recorded by birds in competitive homing pigeon racing;[9] birds bred for this are colloquially called racing homers. Homing pigeons' average flying speed over moderate 965 km (600 miles) distances is around 97 km/h (60 miles per hour)[10] and speeds of up to 160 km/h (100 miles per hour) have been observed in top racers for short[clarification needed] distances.

  1. ^ "carrier pigeon". Merriam-Webster. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024. a pigeon used to carry messages, especially: homing pigeon
  2. ^ "carrier pigeon". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2024. A homing pigeon, especially one trained to carry messages.
  3. ^ "carrier pigeon". Collins English Dictionary. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024. any homing pigeon, esp one used for carrying messages
  4. ^ "carrier pigeon". Webster's New World College Dictionary. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2010. Retrieved May 29, 2024. a homing pigeon trained to carry messages
  5. ^ "carrier pigeon". Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. Oxford: Oxford University press. 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024. a pigeon that has been trained to carry messages
  6. ^ "carrier pigeon". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024. a pigeon that is trained to carry messages
  7. ^ Blechman, Andrew (2007). Pigeons-The fascinating saga of the world's most revered and reviled bird. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 978-0-7022-3641-9. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008.
  8. ^ Levi, Wendell (1977). The Pigeon. Sumter, S.C.: Levi Publishing Co. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-85390-013-9.
  9. ^ Walcott, Charles (1996). "Pigeon Homing: Observations,copup and Confusions" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 199 (Pt 1): 21–27. doi:10.1242/jeb.199.1.21. PMID 9317262. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  10. ^ Andrew (2011). "Cairo's Fancy Fliers". Saudi Aramco World. Vol. 62, no. 2. Aramco Services Company. Retrieved 11 December 2018.