Pigeons, with their graceful silhouettes and array of colors, from urban greys to iridescent hues, take center stage in our pigeon coloring pages section, inviting you to explore and bring to life the often overlooked beauty of these adaptable city dwellers.
Cher Ami means “dear friend” in French, and this pigeon proved it. In October 1918 a group of American soldiers got trapped in a forest in France, and then their own side’s guns started firing on them by mistake. They had one pigeon left, so they tied a note to his leg asking headquarters to stop.
Cher Ami flew 25 miles in about 25 minutes. Along the way he was shot in the chest and lost a leg, but the note was still dangling from what was left of it when he landed. Nearly 200 soldiers were rescued. France gave him a medal for bravery called the Croix de Guerre, and he’s now at the Smithsonian’s American history museum in Washington, D.C.
