Someone in Macomb is Trying to Give Away Racing Pigeons

I admit I did a double-take when I first saw this, but it is not a mirage, it's real. Someone in Macomb is trying to give away racing pigeons. Yes, racing pigeons.

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I found this unique offering on the Free Stuff page on the Western Illinois Craigslist. It's a genuine offer of racing pigeons and no cost to you. Here's a picture to prove I'm not making this up.

I know you're thinking to yourself "I'd love to see a better pic of these pigeons", so here you go. They do look like healthy pigeons.

After Googling the subject, I know now a lot more about pigeon racing than I knew yesterday. There's an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to trained pigeons who fly a certain distance and return (and are timed). It says:

Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of travel is calculated and compared with all of the other pigeons in the race to determine which animal returned at the highest speed.

Think about it. You can now be an owner of a pigeon racing team for the cost of NOTHING. Better contact the Craigslist person quickly before this bird offer disappears. Your chance to be a champion of pigeon racing may never happen again.