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From WinkyPedia, the free encyclopedia that tells you what you already knew
The pigeon is a plump, grey bird found in towns and cities around the world. In a 1995 experiment, pigeons were trained to tell the difference between paintings by Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso, and could then tell apart paintings by the two artists that they had never seen before.[1] The pigeons were not asked which they preferred, which experts consider a missed opportunity.
Homing pigeons can find their way back to their home loft from hundreds of kilometres away, even from places they have never visited. They are thought to use the position of the Sun, the Earth's magnetic field, landmarks and possibly smells and very low sounds.[2] Because of this, pigeons carried messages for thousands of years before the invention of the telephone, which they consider a step backwards.
A pigeon released anywhere will head home. A pigeon released at home will head somewhere near a lamppost and wait for crumbs.
Pigeons bob their heads as they walk. In fact the head does not bob at all: it is thrust forward and then held completely still while the body catches up, which keeps the pigeon's view steady. It is the body that is moving. The head is the only part of the pigeon that is standing still, and has been doing so all along.