Pigeon racing involves the release of highly trained and bred racing pigeons at a distance from their lofts. The birds then race back to their home lofts. Each pigeon carries a microchip on its leg, which allows electronic timing equipment to record the arrival time of each bird when it reaches its home. Prior to the race, the distance is calculated from the release location (called the “race point”) to each pigeons home loft. This allows for the calculation of the average speed (velocity) of each pigeon in the race, with the fastest pigeon being declared the winner. Most races in Australia are between 100km and 1200km. The pigeons cover these distances usually at speeds of between 60 kph and 130 kph (although they can go much faster), depending on the weather conditions. Without wind assistance, racing pigeons will generally fly at an average speed of 70 to 80kph. This means that a racing pigeon in a race of 400km, for example from Mildura to Melbourne, will get home in about 6 hours. To cover these distances successfully at such high speeds, the pigeons need to be extremely fit, be in perfect health, and have good homing ability. This homing ability has been achieved through hundreds of years of selective breeding, to produce what are effectively the racehorses of the sky.
In birds with the correct genetic make-up, who are adequately trained and sent to a race in fit condition, it is unusual for them not to reach their lofts. As they race home, beneath their wings pass hundreds of kilometres of Australia’s open forests, arid areas and sometimes the sea, and yet their desire and ability to return are such that, at times they appear to do it with ease.
The modern racing pigeon must be regarded as a thoroughbred animal that is the end result of centuries of selection. The ancestors of the modern pigeon originally bred in rocky cliffs, with their food source at a distance. It was therefore essential for them to navigate their way home. People have long been aware of this ability, with even the early Egyptians using pigeons to carry messages short distances. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, selective breeding progressively capitalised on this innate ability, with the birds which returned from the furthest distances and at the fastest speeds being most valued. By the mid-19th century, this had progressed to the point where clubs had formed and formal racing competitions were held.
The required level of fitness for racing, is achieved by exercising the birds around their loft, usually once or twice daily, and by taking the birds away from the loft to fly home on training flights. Taking the birds away to fly back to the loft is called “tossing”. The first training “tosses” for pigeons that are still learning can be as short as 3km. Once the birds are returning in good time, the distance is gradually increased to build on the pigeons fitness and increase their experience and confidence. Experienced racing pigeons are usually tossed at distances of 50 to 80km, with most racing fanciers toss their birds one to three times weekly. Tossing is regarded as an essential part of developing race fitness. On return to the loft the birds are fed, watered and given access to their perch or nest box, where they feel safe and secure. Knowing that these rewards are waiting at home, encourages the birds to return quickly. The birds learn and respond to this process rapidly and once the birds are able to return confidently from longer training tosses, they are initially entered into shorter and then longer races as their fitness and experience grows.
Today, pigeon racing is a popular sport world-wide, particularly in countries such as England, Holland, Belgium, France, America, Japan, Germany, China, Malta, South Africa, Poland, Taiwan and Australia. There are about 4000 active pigeon racers in Australia, racing their birds many weekends at different locations around the country. Although this may seem a significant number, it is small compared to many other countries. China has over 800,000 fanciers, while Turkey has 200,000 fanciers. In western Europe, notably Holland and Belgium, the bigger races attract entries of tens of thousands of birds from many lofts. Here, prize money and the value of the winning birds run into tens of thousands, or even millions of Australian dollars, with many individuals and studs vying for the honour of having birds with the leaders. The financial value of a racing pigeon is based on its race record, appearance and most importantly it’s genetic background. Today around the world racing pigeons can be valued anywhere from $50 up to the world record price of $2.6 million Australian dollars.
Pigeon races can attract large amounts of prize money. One race into Melbourne has a first prize of AUD $100,000, while another offers AUD $60,000 to the winner. In South Africa one race offers US $1 Million in prize money, while a race in China offers 1 Million Euro. While this amount of prize money is an exciting prospect for anyone, most fanciers race their pigeons purely for the enjoyment of watching them arrive home. For many pigeon racers there are few things that compare to the pleasure and excitement of seeing a pigeon that they have bred and trained, arriving home from a long distance race.
Pigeons have attracted some urban myths. For some people, their only experience of pigeons is feral pigeons and they assume that all pigeons are the same. This is just silly and is a bit like saying a feral brumby is the same as “Black Caviar”. Similarly some people think mistakenly that pigeons are carriers of disease. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Only one of the most common 25 diseases that spread from animals to man comes from a bird and with this disease, called psittacosis, 99.8% of cases come from parrots such as budgerigars and other birds. Racing pigeons are thoroughbred animals that pose an insignificant risk to human health, particularly when compared to a family dog.
Today, pigeon racing is a popular pastime that knows no cultural or political barriers. It seems that the innate fascination of this remarkable bird affects a proportion of the population no matter where they live.