This is John Batchelor on Thanksgiving, looking to birds that we can celebrate, of Turkey, of course,

but pigeons, conversation with Stephen Moss, the nature writer for 10 birds that change the world.

We focus on the pigeon, the pigeon that delivers messages from battlefields.

Stephen here tells the story of both the first and second war,

and pigeons, as Stephen Jess, they can't be turned.

There are no double-agent pigeons.

They do their job through the fire and oversee.

Stephen Moss consider the humble pigeon delivering the message. Ten birds have changed the world.

More of this later. No, it's another myth, but it's based on accuracy. They certainly tried to do so I think they had human messengers as well.

But what is true is that pigeons often can, particularly in war zones, times particularly in the First World War and the Second World War,

pigeons are able to get back quicker than any other means. Now, if you think about it, for example, in D-Day, when the Americans

came and joined forces with the British and the Allies to invade continental Europe and to

finally defeat the Nazis in 1944, you couldn't use radios because the Nazis didn't know the attack

was coming, so they had to have

radio silence so when the ships we've seen it in films like saving private ryan when they landed

on the normandy beaches pigeons were released to take the message back home that they'd landed

successfully which was absolutely crucial um you know in winning that part of the war that saved the democratic world.

Likewise, you know, in the First World War, there was a pigeon called Cherami, which is still in, I think, the National Museum of American History, I think it's called, is that right, in Washington.

Yes. And this pigeon, which lacks, it's only got think it's called, is that right, in Washington? Yes.

And this Hidgett, which lacks, it's only got, it's a stuffed version of it, of course, it's only got, I think, one eye and one leg.

And this is a bird that was released by a commander of a New York battalion who

accidentally and almost tragically had strayed behind the lines. And so they were being

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