Robin Volk, age l0, of Rochester, N.Y., for her question:

Why were pigeons the birds chosen to carry messages?

When you mail a letter, you expect it to be taken by the most direct routs to the right address. When you send a message, you choose someone you can depend upon to get it there on time. Birds are flighty fellows and most of them do not fly dependable schedules. As they search for food, they change their minds again and again and you can never be surf when or whether they intend to go home.

However, a certain pigeon always flies home by a direct route. He can be crated and carted hundreds of miles from his loft. When freed, he circles a few times to get his bearings, then off he flies wasting no time along the way. Most birds would not bother to go straight home and even ordinary pigeons do not have his special gift for finding their way. This is why our gifted bird was chosen to carry messages. He is the special carrier pigeon also known as the homing pigeon.