Did a Bird Create Mass Communication?

Before the age of radio and satellite phones, soldiers in combat used a much more peculiar form of communication. Going back as far as 776 B.C, carrier pigeons have been used a form of “instant” communication to relay the results of some of the first Olympic Games as well as orders in wartime. Known for their reliability to return to their home, Homing Pigeons were trained and used in World War One and World War Two to communicate enemy positions and signal for help. 
Being a student in 2020, it is amusing to envision a pigeon being your most reliable form of communication in wartime. But like all old forms of communication, pigeons came with their limitations. The biggest one is that they were animals with no prior training or use in wartime or person to person communication. While they were skilled at navigating to what was their “home”, a message sent never guaranteed a message received. In addition to that, using pigeons was a very one-sided form of communication. Pigeons would need to be transported in cages and placed in new locations to allow them time to acclimate to their new “homes”. If this step was not taken then pigeons would only return to the location they knew as their home. That means if a pigeon was used in battle, it would not have the skills to replay a response to the sender. 

Thankfully advancements have been made to where we can use a much more quicker and humane approach to how we relay important information. But without carrier pigeons who knows where we would be in terms of our communication standards. 


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