CARRIER PIGEON, a variety of the domestic pigeon (q.v.), remarkable for the degree in which it possesses the instinct and power of returning from a distance to its accus tomed home; and which has been, therefore, much employed to convey letters from one place to auother. In eastern countries, where such messengers are most frequently em ployed, it is the practice to bathe the pigeon's feet in vinegar to keep them cool, and to prevent it from alighting in quest of water, by which the letter might sustain injury. Pigeons intended for this use, must be brought from the place to which they are to return, within a short period, not exceeding a fortnight of their being let loose, and at a time when they have young in their nest; the remarkable fecundity of the C. P. affording i particular facilities for its employment in this way. The bird is also kept in the dark and without food, for at least eight hours before being let loose. The instinct by which it is guided, like most other instincts, has received no sufficient explanation. That it recognizes objects by sight, and so directs its course, is nothing more than a conjecture, and as such, is only very partially supported by the fact of the great power of vision which these birds, in common with so many others, are known to possess, and by that of the C. P., on being let loose, immediately rising spirally to a great height in the air,
as if to obtain opportunity for the exercise of this power. The C. P. has probably been more used in the Turkish dominions than in any other part of the world; and during the siege of Paris in 1871, it safely conveyed many important messages. Its rate of flight is not less than 30 in. an hour, and it has been known to pass over great distances still more rapidly. The variety generally described as the C. P. (columba tabellaria of Linnmus, C. Tarcica of some authors, but not generally regarded by naturalists as a distinct species), is of remarkably large size, about 15 in. in length from the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail, and has the core very large and carunculated, the eyes surrounded with a broad circle of naked red skin, and the wings reaching nearly to the extremity of the tail. There is, however, a smaller variety, which is said to be superior to it, and which has not the carunculated sere, nor the broad circle around the eye. Carrier pigeons are trained by being conveyed, when young, to short distances of a few mils; from home and then let loose, the distance being gradually increased; and this training is said to render them much more secure as messengers.