pigeon

13 photos and 9 illustrations tagged pigeon, from 10 members of Flickr Commons.

When were these photos & illustrations taken?

1918

2018

Where were these photos & illustrations tagged?

18% of these photos & illustrations are geotagged.

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Recent uploads

The last upload was April 2025.

Pigeon racers with timing clocks, 1945, by Alec Iverson from State Library of New South Wales uploaded April 2025
Pigeons, Drawn from Life (prize specimens) from National Library of Medicine uploaded August 2022
Jap[anese] carrier pigeon troops (LOC) from The Library of Congress uploaded November 2020
British Library digitised image from page 27 of "Odds and Ends. In verse and prose ... Illustrated by George Cruikshank from designs by the author" from British Library uploaded January 2018
British Library digitised image from page 261 of "По Сѣверо-Западу Россіи [With illustrations and maps.]" from British Library uploaded June 2017
Achtererf aan de Geest from Archief Alkmaar Commons uploaded January 2016
British Library digitised image from page 188 of "A Romance of Lincoln's Inn" from British Library uploaded January 2016
1A1182101_283348III029 from Université de Caen Normandie uploaded September 2014
British Library digitised image from page 97 of "My Guardian: a story of the fen country ... Illustrated by Frank Dicksee" from British Library uploaded April 2014
British Library digitised image from page 13 of "Monographien zur deutschen Kulturgeschichte, herausgegeben von G. Steinhausen" from British Library uploaded December 2013
British Library digitised image from page 257 of "From the Black Sea through Persia and India ... Illustrated by the author" from British Library uploaded December 2013
British Library digitised image from page 189 of "Illustrations prepared for White's Ancient History of the Maori" from British Library uploaded December 2013
British Library digitised image from page 166 of "Report of an expedition down the Zuni and Colorado Rivers by Captain L. Sitgreaves ... Illustrations. (Report on ... Natural History ... by S. W. Woodhouse. Zoology: mammals and birds by S. W. Woodhouse; r from British Library uploaded November 2013
Fred Morlan Special Collection Photo from SDASM Archives uploaded July 2013
Woman and children feading pigeons in Copenhagen in 1946 from Stockholm Transport Museum uploaded August 2011

Conversations

Here’s a selection of the conversations happening on these photos & illustrations:

THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE

from Nationaal Archief

2 older comments, and then…
it is aai! said:
sterk beeld!
doustpauline of > \whatwhenwhere/ <all behind. said:
wow another stunning informative photo , outstanding
SandyEm said:
That is just fascinating! Sarndra www.sarndra.com
Ken Ludwig said:
"War is for the Birds !"
Enric Martinez said:
This image is fantastic: IT's completely surreal and at the same time an historic document. Artistically it's completely weird. I see that there is tag indicating that it has been "Taken with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II". I didn't knew that these where used in reprography. Kudos for the photographer, whoever it may have been.

Franco-British carrier ready to be released to carry a long distance message

from National Library of Scotland

1 older comment, and then…
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Flickr said:
Congrats on Explore! ⭐ January 15, 2024
Sigurd Krieger said:
Congrats on Xplore!!
Ian Betley said:
Congrats on Explore! ❤📷❤ splendid image! regards.
Scott said:
Very nice!

Pigeon racers with timing clocks, 1945, by Alec Iverson

from State Library of New South Wales

14 older comments, and then…
clive422 said:
A very serious business! Great picture 👏
Blue Mountains Library, Local Studies said:
Pigeons have been used since ancient times as carriers of messages and emblems of peace. The pigeon was noted as a special species of bird as they would always return to their home. At the beginning of the eighteenth century these carrier pigeons were used for sport and competition. Pigeon racing has been recorded as early as 1806. During the First World War pigeons played a vital role with over 100,000 being used to send messages.

Originally, wing marks were stamped onto a pigeon’s wing to differentiate it from others. After a race when the pigeon arrived home to its owners (fanciers) they would take the bird to the club, the first there was announced the winner. This proved to be unfair as some fanciers lived further away from the club so the competition was imbalanced. Later, fanciers used telegraphs as they could go to local post offices. Again, this proved unfair to some competitors.

People initiated the use of pocket watches but this was unreliable between fanciers. The first timing apparatus was built by Emery Van den Bossche from Oudenaarde in Belgium, his first pigeon clock was built around 1885. A rubber ring with a unique identification number was attached to the bird’s leg before the race. The number was recorded and the clock started. When the bird returned, the fancier would remove the ring and slot it into the clock, the time it was slotted into the clock would be recorded. This time stamp would be taken to the club, meaning a fair system was in place for all competitors. Pigeon clocks were not accepted in England until around 1900 but by 1910 they were used across all of Europe. Fanciers even bought their own clocks.

A modern development in pigeon racing which started in the 1990’s was the electronic timing method. Meaning the pigeon fancier does not have to be there when the pigeon arrives home. The bird’s arrival is recorded automatically, the band around the bird’s leg is fitted with a chip and is scanned as the bird arrives into the pigeon loft. This method means time is not lost in removing the band and placing it into the clock.
landofiron.org.uk/collections-blog/pigeon-clock
State Library of New South Wales said:
Blue Mountains Library, Local Studies 👍
Blue Mountains Library, Local Studies said:
This is the Pix Magazine article, published 20 October 1945:
PIGEON RACING Australian Fanciers Spend £100,00 Every Year On This Popular Sport, Pix Retrieved April 10, 2025, from nla.gov.au/nla.obj-481943671
Merryjack said:
It was terribly blokey, not quite so much now:
'Dying' sport of pigeon racing revived by young fanciers
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-22/pigeon-racing-revived-by-y...

They had a memorial race for the death of the Queen:
www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-18/victorian-pigeon-race-mark...

And there's even an Underbelly:
Pigeon racing's criminal underbelly - doping, ransoms & crime gangs - www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/adelaide-breakfast/pigeon-...

Franco-British carrier pigeon which makes long distance flights