In Australia, a vandal stole flowers from the grave of an unknown soldier…

Since the beginning of October, the staff of the Australian War Memorial, located in Canberra, began to notice that poppies were disappearing from the grave of the unknown soldier one by one.

It took some time for the workers to identify the culprit, who eventually turned out to be a pigeon. The bird was picking flowers to build itself a stunning, colorful nest at the stained glass window next to the war memorial. It turned out very nicely.

Many considered this beautiful nest to be a kind of sign, because it was discovered right on the eve of the celebration of Memorial Day — November 11 (we are talking about the so—called Poppy Day, which is designed to perpetuate the memory of all soldiers of the British Commonwealth who died in conflicts involving Great Britain).

According to journalists of the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, the stained glass window, which was randomly chosen by a bird, depicts a wounded soldier, and the pigeon nest of red poppies located at its foot is "as a reminder of the strong connection between man and animal on the battlefield."

Nowadays pigeons are disliked, they are considered unpleasant birds, but throughout human history they have been very useful allies.

"Especially in the early wars, when communication was really difficult. During the First World War, wireless communication was in its infancy, telephone wires were torn apart by the opponents on the Western Front. Therefore, pigeons were in use during the war. A pigeon can help when nothing else can," said Melea Hampton, Doctor of Historical Sciences.

During the Second World War, 32 pigeons received the Maria Deakin Medal, which is awarded to animals who showed bravery and devotion in serving people.One of the most memorable examples is a pigeon named White Vision, who received a medal "for delivering a message in extremely difficult conditions, which contributed to the rescue of the flight crew in October 1943."