homing pigeon

American  

[hoh-ming pij-uhn] / ˈhoʊ mɪŋ ˌpɪdʒ ən /

noun

1. any pigeon used to carry messages and equipped by training and breeding to fly home, sometimes from great distances.

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homing pigeon British  

noun

1. Also called: homer.  any breed of pigeon developed for its homing instinct, used for carrying messages or for racing

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Etymology

Origin of homing pigeon

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

He said he’s lived on this street so long he wouldn’t know where else to go; he’d be like a homing pigeon, throw him in the sky and he’d wheel back.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2025

He and Bert never seemed to get along, and our theory was that Ernie was a trained homing pigeon and had probably homed back to wherever he was born.

From Salon • Aug. 4, 2022

To find out how bird brains support these mental talents, Stacho and his colleagues examined microscopic slices of three homing pigeon brains using 3D polarized light imaging.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 24, 2020

Instead, he felt pulled in that direction, like a homing pigeon.

From The Guardian • Mar. 15, 2017

So when Molly left the building that day through what she hadn’t even realized was a theft-detection gate, a loud, insistent beeping brought the head librarian, Susan LeBlanc, swooping over like a homing pigeon.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline