Pigeon steals poppies, creates 'commemorative' nest above Australian war memorial

Australian pigeon crafts a patriotic nest A pigeon used poppies laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier in Canberra to build a nest at the Australian War Memorial.

TORONTO – A pigeon has been stealing poppies from the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and making a nest out of the flowers in the alcove of a stained glass window.

“Each day the pigeon has been flying down… to steal poppies, carefully crafting a nest in the lead-up to Remembrance Day in an alcove above the stained-glass window of a wounded Australian soldier,” the website for the Australian War Memorial reads.

The poignancy of the bird using the unusual nest materials is not lost on the Memorial’s staff, as the website explores the history of soldiers using pigeons during wartime.

“Between 1942 and 1943, pigeon fanciers across the country gave some 13,500 trained pigeons to the army for signals use purposes,” the website says. “There are lots of stories of pigeons valiantly going forward and saving people’s lives.”