Abstract: 

They may look ordinary, pecking at crumbs in city squares, but homing pigeons carry an extraordinary story. For thousands of years, these birds were trusted messengers, flying across empires, battlefields, and oceans with news that could change lives. Scientists now know their secret lies in a mix of senses: a built-in compass, the sun above, and even the scents on the wind. Beyond their skill, pigeons became powerful symbols of peace, loyalty, and the hope of always finding one’s way home. Though modern technology has replaced them, their presence in ceremonies, museums, and the hearts of devoted keepers reminds us that their wings once carried far more than words: they carried memory, courage, and connection. 

You might notice them: they rise quietly, in perfect timing, cutting across the sky with gentle wings. In certain solemn ceremonies: commemorations, national observances, military parade or symbolic gatherings, homing pigeons are often released into the open air. 

You may have noticed that these birds’ role is often deliberate, choreographed as part of a larger story. While some viewers simply see a beautiful release of birds, others, especially those with a keen eye on history, recognize the deeper message they represent. 

The story of homing pigeons doesn’t begin with modern warfare, it begins thousands of years ago. 

Long before email, telegraphs, or even paper mail, people discovered that certain breeds of pigeons could reliably return home over long distances. That ability, what we now call the "homing instinct", wasn’t just random. It was revolutionary. 

Evidence suggests that as early as 1350 BCE, the ancient Egyptians were using homing pigeons to send messages. The idea was simple but brilliant: a message tied to the leg of a pigeon, which would then fly back to its home, delivering news across great distances. 

The Romans later adopted this method too; Pliny the Elder even wrote about pigeons being used as military messengers in the first century CE. In ancient Greece, they were used to announce the winners of the Olympic Games, and by the 12th century, pigeon posts were running between cities like Baghdad and Syria. Genghis Khan, the Genoese, and even Tipu Sultan of Mysore all relied on these feathered carriers. 

As the centuries rolled on, pigeons remained an essential tool for fast, reliable communication, especially in times of war. 

During the Franco-Prussian War, for example, they carried messages in and out of besieged Paris, some even delivering microfilmed news over hundreds of kilometers. Paul Reuter, the founder of Reuters news agency, once used a flock of 45 pigeons to send financial updates between cities before telegraphs were widely available. 

One of the most fascinating examples was the Great Barrier Pigeongram Agency in New Zealand, launched in 1897. Not only was it one of the earliest airmail services, but it also produced the world’s first "airmail" stamps. 

Of course, as communication technology advanced, pigeons gradually fell out of official use. By the late 20th century, most armies had disbanded their pigeon units. Today, using a pigeon for communication might seem as outdated as sending smoke signals. 

But that doesn’t mean they’ve been forgotten. 

Some countries, including China, France, and even Switzerland, have kept small pigeon corps as backup in the event of electronic warfare or natural disasters. It’s not so much about practicality as it is about redundancy and tradition. 

Meanwhile, pigeon racing and breeding remain passionate hobbies for thousands of people around the world. 

The homing pigeon is also called a mail pigeon or messenger, and colloquially a homer. Perhaps most commonly, it is called a carrier pigeon. 

For centuries, people marveled at how pigeons could find their way home across vast and unfamiliar landscapes. Will they get lost? How do they fly straight back to their home. 

What we do know is that homing pigeons rely on a combination of sensory tools. 

First, there's magnetoreception: the ability to sense the earth’s magnetic field. Think of it as an internal compass. Scientists have found tiny magnetic particles in a pigeon’s beak and brain that may help them detect subtle shifts in magnetic direction, even when visual cues are absent. 

Then there's solar navigation. Pigeons can use the position of the sun, along with their internal body clock, to determine direction, just like ancient sailors used the stars. 

But perhaps the most fascinating and still debated theory is olfactory mapping. Research suggests pigeons build a kind of smell-based map of their environment, learning the scents carried by wind patterns over long distances. This theory was initially controversial but is now backed by solid evidence, especially in studies where pigeons were disoriented when their sense of smell was temporarily blocked. 

In other words, pigeons don’t use just one sense. Their navigation is not instinct alone; it’s part biology, part learning, and part sheer persistence. 

The homing instinct is natural, but honing it takes time, patience, and consistency. 

Pigeon trainers, also known as fanciers, start training them when the birds are young, usually a few weeks old. The key is getting them to bond with a specific loft as “home.” Once that bond is formed, training begins in short stages: first just outside the loft, then a few kilometers away, gradually increasing the distance with each flight. 

Along the way, the pigeons learn not just to fly home, but to fly fast, avoiding predators, wind currents, and urban distractions at the same time. Some pigeons can return from distances of over 800 kilometers, often beating traffic and technology in speed. 

During wartime, pigeons were trained under intense conditions. Military handlers had to teach them to fly through artillery fire, night skies, or even chemical interference. 

In modern civilian contexts, racing pigeons are trained for endurance and speed, with record-holders reaching speeds of 80-100 km/h. 

While homing pigeons are best known for their remarkable ability to carry messages, their meaning runs deeper than their function. 

Over time, these birds have come to represent ideas that stretch far beyond communication: peace, loyalty, resilience, and even sacrifice. 

In many cultures, pigeons, especially doves, a closely related species, are symbols of purity and harmony. In Western art and religious tradition, the dove often represents the Holy Spirit or divine peace. In Eastern cultures, pigeons appear in stories of loyalty and long journeys, sometimes seen as carriers of the soul or symbols of reunion. 

But it’s the homing pigeon, specifically, that stands apart in a more grounded, practical way. Its unwavering commitment to returning home, no matter the weather, the danger, or the distance, has made it a metaphor for dedication, duty, and hope. Soldiers came to view pigeons not just as tools, but as companions. Some even wrote farewell notes to their pigeons.It’s a form of symbolism that’s not just poetic, it’s earned. 

Today, when pigeons are released in formal events, it’s rarely for communication--it’s for what they represent. Their release is a quiet but powerful visual cue: a reminder of the past, a gesture toward peace, a nod to history that doesn’t need to be spoken aloud. 

In state ceremonies or memorial services, the sight of pigeons taking flight can evoke a shared emotion across thousands of people. It’s not just beautiful, it’s meaningful. It signals remembrance. 

Behind every homing pigeon, there is usually a keeper，a person who wakes early to clean the loft, measure the feed, and watch the sky as their birds return from training flights. For these keepers, pigeons are not just animals with a skill; they are companions with character. Ask any fancier, and they’ll tell you: every bird has its own temperament. Maybe some are bold and impatient, some shy and cautious, while others are fiercely loyal to their mates. 

In wartime diaries, soldiers wrote about the comfort they felt when handling pigeons, even while surrounded by chaos. In peaceful times, keepers speak of the quiet joy of seeing a bird circle overhead and land safely home. The bond is not loud or dramatic, it’s steady, built on routine, trust, and care. 

And yet, that tradition is fading. In many cities, pigeon lofts are disappearing, squeezed out by urban development and changing lifestyles. Younger generations, drawn to digital hobbies or life in apartments without space for birds, are less likely to take up the practice. 

Still, the decline is not universal. In rural areas and in pockets of passionate communities around the world, the culture continues, passed down from father to son, mentor to apprentice. 

For those who remain, the act of raising pigeons is not just about competition--it’s about preserving a way of life. 

Even where the practice has waned, the legacy of homing pigeons endures in other forms. Monuments dedicated to “war pigeons” stand in cities from Brussels to London. Museums display tiny message capsules, medals awarded to feathered heroes. In textbooks, the story of their service is still told, often to remind students that history isn’t only shaped by human hands. 

More than that, pigeons remain a cultural shorthand. A flock released into the sky is immediately understood, without explanation: hope, remembrance, peace. The bond between humans and pigeons may not be as visible as it once was, but it hasn’t disappeared--it has just transformed. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homing_pigeon

Parks, Shoshi; Jerolmack, Colin (25 January 2023).  "Did Ancient Egypt Have a Pigeon Problem?". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 6 September 2023. 

https://www.historyinthemargins.com/2023/06/20/wire-services-and-carrier-pigeons/ 

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/11039

https://www.ooma.com/blog/communications-history-homing-pigeons/?srsltid=AfmBOorBexu1TofgQ0NuW9hEM-V04Xuc3QmRHiadD9ee62KGwFbRbX7c

https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/34101-how-do-pigeons-find-their-way-home%3F-we-looked-in-their-ears-with-a-diamond-based-quantum-microscope-to-find-out 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKkf_R3HEf0