Pigeon Steals Poppies From Unknown Soldier's Grave And Builds Stunning Nest
Since early October, something strange has been happening at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Just over a month ago, the staff of the iconic building began noticing that the poppies from an unknown soldier's grave seemed to be disappearing. One by one, the poppies were gradually becoming fewer and fewer. Very strange indeed.
It took them some time to discover that the poppy thief was, in fact, a pigeon. The bird, with very good taste, had been picking the flowers from the grave and using them to build itself a beautiful, colorful nest at the war memorial.
Perhaps the clever pigeon wanted to do something special for the Remembrance Day commemorations, which were held on November 11th.
The war memorial told the Sydney Morning Herald that the stained glass window, which was accidentally chosen by the bird, commemorates the wounded soldier and symbolizes the quality of “endurance.” The nest of poppies nearby serves as a “reminder of the powerful bond between man and beast on the battlefield.”
Pigeons are sometimes considered to be unpleasant birds, but throughout history, they have been useful allies during battles.
“Particularly in the early wars, communication was really difficult. Wireless technology was in its absolute infancy during the First World War, and telephone wires were often broken apart in the shellfire on the Western Front. So pigeons were particularly useful in warfare when you had a couple of men trying to get a message from where they were back to the backline; a pigeon could sometimes get that through when nothing else could,” historian Dr. Meleah Hampton said.
During World War II, 32 pigeons received The PDSA Dickin Medal, which is awarded to any animal displaying conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.
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