In my latest blog of three weeks ago I wrote about the varied and specialized uses
![A pigeon with camera. The Germans used the photographs to see French and British deployments and dispositions.](https://jerredmetz.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/330px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R01996_Brieftaube_mit_Fotokamera_cropped.jpg)
of lorries and buses in World War I. The picture I included was of a lorry equipped as a pigeon cote. Homing pigeons played an important role in communications for all sides in the war.
As a novelist (and just my own preoccupations) I am interested in the little thought of aspect of whatever I write about. Thus, small matters, ephemera, details make up what become major subjects in my writing. So, this note is to pay homage to the lowly pigeon. I am intrigued by the pigeon photographer that the Germans put to use.
Pigeons have a unique ability to navigate their way from wherever they are released to their home cote. The fly high and swiftly. They are difficult targets to hit.
![A canister containing a message would be attached to a carrier pigeon's leg.](https://jerredmetz.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/330px-PigeonLegCanister.jpg)
Follow this link to learn more. Befriend a pigeon and thank it for its species’ service.