2/8. Pigeons: The Great Communicators and Wartime Heroes — Steven Moss — Moss discusses the humble pigeon as a paradoxical feral bird species possessing extraordinary homing capabilities that made it invaluable as a communications mechanism. Although the famous narrative of Nathan Rothschild using pigeons following the Battle of Waterloo is apocryphal, pigeons were genuinely crucial wartime messengers. Moss emphasizes that pigeons were essential during the D-Day invasion due to radio silence protocols, and the celebrated pigeon Cher Ami saved imperiled soldiers during World War I. Moss notes that British forces even systematically killed Peregrine Falcons to protect pigeon communications, inadvertently contributing to the species' subsequent endangerment and near-extinction.
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