Homing pigeon

A domestic pigeon bred or trained to return to its home loft from unfamiliar locations. Its homing ability has made it useful for carrying messages.

Pigeon navigation: The processes pigeons use to determine direction and travel toward a destination. Homing depends on combining directional cues with knowledge of the homeward route.
Pigeon post: A message-delivery system that uses pigeons trained to return to a fixed home loft. It turns the bird's one-way return flight into a communication channel.
Rock dove: A wild pigeon species native to parts of Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, and the ancestor of domestic pigeons. Domestic homing pigeons descend from this species.
Battle of the Marne: A First World War battle fought near Paris in September 1914 that halted the German advance. French forces used pigeons to carry messages during the battle's disrupted communications.
Passenger pigeon: An extinct North American pigeon once known for enormous migratory flocks. Despite its name, this wild species was not the domestic message-carrying homing pigeon.
Magnetoreception: The ability of an organism to detect and use Earth's magnetic field. Magnetic cues may help pigeons orient, though their role in homing remains contested.
Pigeon racing: A competitive sport in which pigeons race home to their lofts from release points. Racing measures the same return ability used in practical message delivery.
Domestic pigeon: The domesticated form of the rock dove, bred into many varieties for different traits and uses. Homing pigeons are a purpose-bred type of domestic pigeon.
Siege of Paris (1870–1871): The Prussian siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, lasting from September 1870 to January 1871. Pigeons carried messages into besieged Paris, often alongside microphotographic dispatches.
Migratory bird navigation: The orientation and route-finding used by birds during seasonal migration. Migration involves journeys between seasonal ranges, unlike return to a fixed loft.

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