IN these crazy times, little surprises. But the arrest of a pigeon amid accusations the bird is a spy has still managed to raise eyebrows. A glance at history, though, tells us that the concept is not so fanciful.

A pigeon has been arrested?

The situation unfolded last week when a Pakistani villager said he flew his pigeons to mark the festival of Eid, but the bird was captured on the border in Indian-administered Kashmir and handed it to police, who kept the pigeon in a cage.

Why?

They say it had a ring on one of its legs, inscribed with a code they were trying to decipher.

This was denied?

The bird’s owner claims the code was his phone number, adding that his pigeon is a “symbol of peace” and India should stop “victimising innocent birds”. The situation naturally did not help already tense relations between the countries, but local reports suggested the bird was released at the weekend.

It’s not the first time?

In 2016, Indian police took another pigeon into custody after it was found with a note in Urdu threatening the Prime Minister. 

A pigeon as a spy?

It may sound fanciful, but the humble pigeon has been used for many such missions at key points in world history.

The Cold War?

Just last year, the CIA declassified its papers detailing secret spy-pigeon missions undertaken during the Cold War, with the documents revealing how pigeons took photographs of sensitive locations inside the Soviet Union. Using tiny cameras that automatically took images, the CIA capitalised on the birds’ speed, altitude and homing ability.

Message carriers?

Pigeons were brought to Europe in medieval times by the Crusaders, but in Roman times, pigeons were used to convey messages throughout the empire, such as ships warning their home port they were about to arrive or the results of Olympic games for betting syndicates. Carrier pigeons were highly regarded in the Arab world, referred to as "The King's Angels”.

Pigeon post?

In the 19th century, there was an official pigeon postal service across France and this extended between London and Paris in the 1870s.

Brave birds?

During both World Wars, homing pigeons were extensively used to transport messages to and from their home coop and behind enemy lines. It was a dangerous job and enemy soldiers often tried to shoot them down. Thirty-two pigeons were awarded the Dickin Medal - the VC equivalent for animals, marking their gallantry. 

Among them?

The honoured birds were "Winkie", who was aboard a British torpedo bomber when it crashed in the North Sea in 1942, badly damaged by enemy fire following a mission to Norway. The crew set Winkie free and she returned home to Broughty Ferry where her owner discovered her and alerted the RAF Leuchars base, s;arking a rescue of the crew.

D-Day?

A carrier pigeon known as the “Duke of Normandy” brought back the first message on D-Day from British airborne forces.

Secret Pigeon Service?

Also during WW2, a clandestine branch of British intelligence, MI14(d), ran a Secret Pigeon Service, which dropped birds in a container by parachute over Occupied Europe with a questionnaire attached. More than 1,000 pigeons returned with messages including details of V1 rocket launch sites and German radar stations.