Pigeon post

Pigeon post is a messaging system that attaches written messages to homing pigeons, which fly back to a familiar destination. It was used to transmit information across distances when other communication methods were unavailable or slower.

Homing pigeon: A domesticated pigeon selectively bred or trained to return to a familiar home loft from unfamiliar locations. Its return flight is the basis of pigeon post.
Columba livia domestication: The domestication of the rock dove, the ancestor of domestic pigeon breeds. Domestic pigeons supplied the birds later bred and trained for message carrying.
Siege of Paris (1870–1871): The Prussian encirclement of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, lasting from September 1870 to January 1871. Pigeons carried microfilmed messages into besieged Paris when ordinary mail routes were cut.
Telegraphy: The transmission of messages over distance using electrical or other signaling systems. Telegraphy offered rapid, addressable communication, unlike a pigeon’s return to one home loft.
Pigeon loft: A shelter where pigeons are housed and cared for. A known home loft gives a released pigeon a destination.
Rock dove: A widespread pigeon species that nests on cliffs and is the ancestor of domestic pigeons. Its natural return-to-nest behavior underlies the homing traits used in pigeon post.
Pigeon post in World War I: The military use of pigeons to carry messages during the First World War. Armies used pigeons when telephone wires were destroyed or radio communication was impractical.
Radio communication: The transmission of information using radio waves between transmitters and receivers. Radio could send messages in multiple directions without transporting a bird to its destination.
Pigeon message capsule: A small container attached to a pigeon to protect a written message during flight. The capsule carried the message without preventing the bird from flying.
Ancient Egypt: A civilization of northeastern Africa that flourished along the Nile from antiquity through the first millennium BCE. Ancient Egyptian records describe pigeons used to announce events, among early documented messaging uses.

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