Homing pigeons were a one-way service.
The pigeons would be taken to a place by horse/foot/etc.
When released they would fly home.
How did they know where home was?
[Same way animals do now](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-do-birds-find-their-way-home-61927645/)
And yes, sometime something or someone would foul the fowl’s flight.
You house the pigeon in a place it considers home
You take it away with you
You tie the message to its leg and let it go
It finds its way back to its home (we are still not entirely sure how)
Recipient reads the message.
++++++++++++
And yes they do sometimes not make it back because of predators or whatever.
Imagine a phone that you can only send one text from to only one number and you can’t receive any
Some pigeon breeds imprint on their birth location by around six weeks. They develop a *strong* instinct to return there for safety/mating and can fly up to 700 miles in a single day, which is pretty amazing. Take some pigeons with you on a journey, tie a note to its leg, and boom: one way telegram with unbeatable speed prior to the actual telegram.
Pigeons, in generally, are a pretty remarkable species that we used to raise for food (taste like a less gamey pheasant), keep as pets (they’re very sweet and snuggly), and in some places/times used as status symbols.
Their current bad reputation (“rats with wings”) is very recent (circa 1960s for the US). The book “A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching” is a great primer on these sweet little guys.
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