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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