War of the brids

["Philip Veerman" <>]

I haven't seen it all yet, I videoed it and didn't stay awake on attempts to watch it all (last night), but I will. However it is not true that the program's authors ("program" being singular) gave the impression that "pigeons always got through". Indeed it showed the problems they had with Peregrine Falcons (elsewhere they and or other predators were referred to just as hawks, also nazi snipers shooting at them). It finished with a montage of dead pigeons that didn't make it. The ending made it clear about the numbers of them that did not get through. Obviously there is not a lot to tell about the ones that did not get through. They were telling a story about the few lucky cases where the birds did help a lot. Of course they are going to be selective in the stories they told, otherwise it would be a boring story. Some stories are impressive. Just as the stories of those soldiers awarded the VC are more remarkable than most of the stories of the many more soldiers that did not receive the VC. Seen from a pigeon's viewpoint, of course, they were just trying to return to their home. Thoughts of them as heroic members of the military are of course anthropomorphic, although the ability of them to perform the feat under difficult circumstances is surely still remarkable.

 

Philip