The Carrier or English Carrier is a breed of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding. Carriers, along with other varieties of domesticated pigeons, are all descendants of the rock dove (Columba livia). They have a long slender body, with a long neck in proportion to the rest of the body, and distinctive features including a rounded hard wattle.
HINT:
In this Dossier
English carrier pigeon in the context of Messenger pigeon
The homing pigeon is a variety of domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica), selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distances. Because of this skill, homing pigeons were used to carry messages, a practice referred to as "pigeon post". Until the introduction of telephones, they were used commercially to deliver communication; when used during wars, they were called "war pigeons".
The homing pigeon is also called a mail pigeon or messenger, and colloquially a homer. Perhaps most commonly, the homing pigeon is called a carrier pigeon; this nomenclature can be confusing, though, since it is distinct from the English carrier, an ancient breed of fancy pigeon. Modern-day homing pigeons do have English carrier blood in them because they are in part descendants of the old-style carriers.
View the full Wikipedia page for Messenger pigeon