from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Homing \Hom"ing\ (h[=o]m"[i^]ng), p. a.
Home-returning; -- used specifically of carrier pigeons.
[1913 Webster]
{Homing pigeon}, any pigeon trained to return home from a
distance. Also called {carrier pigeon}. Most are bred from
the domestic pigeon {Columba livia}. Homing pigeons are
used for sending back messages or for flying races. By
carrying the birds away and releasing them at gradually
increasing distances from home, they may be trained to
return with more or less certainty and promptness from
distances up to four or five hundred miles. The birds
typically do not stop on their way home, and may average
as much as 60 miles per hour on their return trip. If the
distance is increased much beyond 400 miles, the birds are
unable to cover it without stopping for a prolonged rest,
and their return becomes doubtful. The record for returnig
from a distance is close to 1,200 miles. Homing pigeons
are not bred for fancy points or special colors, but for
strength, speed, endurance, and intelligence or homing
instinct. Although used since ancient times, homing
pigeons have been largely displaced for practical purposes
by radio and electronic communications, but they are still
used in some special situations at the end of the 20th
century. They were used in military operations as recently
as in World War II.
[Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC] hominian