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208
Animal Heroes
·
Ernest Thompson Seton
43
The
Homing
Pigeon
used
to
be
called
the
Carrier
because
it
carried
messages,
but
here
I
found
that
name
restricted
to
the
show
bird,
the
creature
with
absurdly
developed
wattles;
the
one
that
carries
the
messages
is
now
called
the
Homer,
or
Homing
Pigeon--the
bird
that
always
comes
home.
These
Pigeons
are
not
of
any
special
color,
nor
have
they
any
of
the
fancy
adornments
of
the
kind
that
figure
in
Bird
shows.
They
are
not
bred
for
style,
but
for
speed
and
for
their
mental
gifts.
They
must
be
true
to
their
home,
able
to
return
to
it
without
fail.
The
sense
of
direction
is
now
believed
to
be
located
in
the
bony
labyrinth
of
the
ear.
There
is
no
creature
with
finer
sense
of
locality
and
direction
than
a
good
Homer,
and
the
only
visible
proofs
of
it
are
the
great
bulge
on
each
side
of
the
head
over
the
ears,
and
the
superb
wings
that
complete
his
equipment
to
obey
the
noble
impulse
of
home-love.
Now
the
mental
and
physical
equipments
of
the
last
lot
of
young
birds
were
to
be
put
to
test.
Although
there
were
plenty
of
witnesses,
I
thought
it
best
to
close
all
but
one
of
the
pigeon-doors
and
stand
ready
to
shut
that
behind
the
first
arrival.
I
shall
never
forget
the
sensations
of
that
day.
I
had
been
warned:
"They
start
at
12;
they
should
be
here
at
12:30;
but
look
out,
they
come
like
a
whirlwind.
You
hardly
see
them
till
they're
in."
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