The Australian War MemorialA poppy pinching pigeon who flew into hearts across the world has now welcomed a sweet little baby bird into her one-of-a-kind nest.
The Australian War Memorial has shared an adorable photograph of the newly hatched arrival cosied up in the mother pigeon’s bright red nest. The nest itself is made up of poppies nicked by the pigeon from the Australian War Memorial’s tomb of the unknown soldier.
The disappearance of the poppies was initially a mystery, however the pigeon was eventually clocked as the culprit after a maintenance worker discovered her nest in an alcove above a stained glass window.
The Australian War MemorialNow her bundle of feathery joy is finally here – snuggled up tight at the historic location – and is quickly becoming a celebrity in their own right.
Welcoming the fluffy baby to the world via a Facebook post, a representative for The Australian War Memorial wrote:
Earlier in the month we shared a story of a pigeon that had been busy preparing for new life in a place that commemorates death, sacrifice and renewal.
Each day the pigeon would fly down to the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier to steal poppies, carefully crafting a nest in the lead-up to Remembrance Day in an alcove above the stained-glass window of a wounded Australian soldier.
People have fallen beak over wings for this little one, and have praised the mother pigeon for being such a good, resourceful mama.
Earlier in the month we shared a story of a pigeon that had been busy preparing for new life in a place that…
Posted by Australian War Memorial on Friday, November 29, 2019
One person wrote:
Awwh welcome to the world little one. I hope they name you but for now I have named you ‘Peace’ but maybe ‘Poppy’ is more appropriate.
Another commented:
How beautiful and, I think, so appropriate in a place that commemorates past lives, and now, commemorates new life.
Even more poignantly, pigeons have been helping soldiers for centuries; being an important means of communication in the early wars.
The Australian War MemorialAccording to the Australian War Memorial website:
Pigeons have been in use in both war and civilian life for centuries.
Whenever we talk about animals in war, they are fulfilling a purpose or performing a task that people can’t do easily on their own. So we use horses for transporting people or pulling guns, and we use pigeons as an answer to our problems with communication.
Particularly in the early wars, communication is really difficult. Wireless is in its absolute infancy in the First World War and telephone wires get broken apart in the shellfire on the Western Front.
So pigeons are particularly of use in warfare when you’ve got a couple of men trying to get a message from where they are back to the backline; a pigeon can get that through sometimes when nothing else can.
A very big welcome to the world to this teeny-weeny winged warrior.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.