Homing Pigeon Tag

Homing pigeon tag.   This small lightweight silver coloured capsule was made to be strapped to a pigeon's leg. It has paper rolled inside it. Pigeons were used by both the allies and Germans to carry messages from the front line back to command posts. A pigeon's homing instinct meant that when released they returned to the loft where they had been trained. During World War One pigeons were more reliable and faster than other forms of communication such as radios.