Although people in urban areas regard them as a bunch of pests, a pigeon in Australia has surprised everyone with her ingenuity after creating a nest out of poppies.
Pigeons stole flowers from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Ironically, the clever bird used the flowers to avoid being i.njur.ed by the pigeon rope on the sill which she built her nest.
The impressive work has been seen by many, not coincidentally, as pigeons play an important role in modern history (especially during World War I and World War II) and the meaning of poppies. (a symbol of endurance for soldiers).
It took a while until the staff at the War Memorial found out where all the poppies were disappearing. At first, they didn’t know what was going on with all the flowers on the Unknown Soldier Monument, but the innocent thief was soon found when someone discovered a lot of poppies next to the glass window.
Moments later, the culprit showed on, carrying another (stolen) flower on her beak. Needless to say that everyone was delighted to learn that the poppy thief was actually a pigeon.
Coincidence or not, the stained glass window where the beautiful nest was built, illustrates the ‘wounded soldier.’ It was like this pigeon wanted “to remind everyone of the powerful bond between man and beast on the battlefield.”
Historian Meleah Hampton explained: “Pigeons are really the most effective way to convey a message. “They [pigeons] are especially used in warfare when you have a few men trying to get a message from where they go back to the backline; a pigeon can sometimes get through that while nothing else can. ”
Even during the Second World War, pigeons played an essential role in communication. To prove it, 32 pigeons were honored with the PDSA Dickin Medal – a title given to trained animals for their devotion to duty.
One of the most famous pigeons of that time was ‘White Vision.’ The heroic bird has managed” to a message in particularly difficult conditions, and thus contributes to the rescue of an aircrew member while serving with the RAF in October 1943”.
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