Did birds deliver mail

What an interesting question!

Yes, birds have been used to deliver mail in the past, although it's not a common practice today. Here are a few examples:

1. Homing Pigeons: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, homing pigeons were used to deliver mail in some parts of the world, particularly in areas where traditional postal services were limited or non-existent. Homing pigeons were trained to fly back to their lofts, carrying small messages or packages attached to their legs.
2. Carrier Pigeons: In the early 20th century, carrier pigeons were used to deliver mail in some European countries, such as France and Germany. These pigeons were trained to fly between specific locations, carrying small messages or packages.
3. Mail-Carrying Birds: In the 1960s and 1970s, a few experiments were conducted to use birds as mail carriers. For example, in 1962, a company in the United States called "Bird Mail" used trained birds to deliver mail between two locations in California. The birds were trained to fly between the two locations, carrying small packages attached to their legs.

However, there are several reasons why birds are no longer commonly used to deliver mail:

1. Speed: Birds are generally slower than modern postal services, which rely on vehicles and aircraft to transport mail quickly and efficiently.
2. Reliability: While birds can be trained to fly between specific locations, they can also be affected by weather conditions, bird strikes, and other factors that can impact their ability to deliver mail reliably.
3. Safety: There are concerns about the safety of using birds to deliver mail, particularly in areas with high levels of air traffic or other hazards.

Today, birds are mostly used for recreational purposes, such as racing or showing, rather than for delivering mail.