A pigeon is a plump, gray bird with a small head and short legs that you've probably seen strutting around city parks, sidewalks, and town squares. Pigeons are famous for living comfortably around people, pecking at crumbs and seeds, and gathering in large flocks wherever food might be found.

Though many city dwellers think of pigeons as common or even annoying, these birds are actually remarkable. For thousands of years, people bred and trained pigeons to carry messages across long distances, a job they performed with surprising reliability. During both World Wars, carrier pigeons delivered critical military messages when radio communications failed. One famous pigeon named Cher Ami even helped save nearly 200 soldiers by flying through enemy fire to deliver a message.

Pigeons can find their way home from hundreds of miles away, using Earth's magnetic field and landmarks to navigate. They mate for life and can recognize themselves in mirrors, a sign of intelligence that few animals possess.

The word pigeon can also describe someone who's been tricked or cheated. The related word pigeonholed means being unfairly stuck with a certain role, like when someone gets pigeonholed into doing all the boring work on a group project.