A Homeward Hound

By "Tern" Jessica Leber -- Either this bird really loves the limelight or is simply the most persistent pigeon ever. Boomerang, fittingly named, made headlines in 1998 when she flew from southern Spain to England–a solid 1,200 miles–to return to her owner. Retiring racing pigeon breeder Dino Reardon had given her away to a friend. It took him another two tries to finally get rid of her that same year--or so he thought.

This past Father’s Day, a decade later, Boomerang returned. “I checked the tag and nearly collapsed when I saw who it was,” Reardon told The Daily Mail. She looked thin and generally worse for the wear, but now Reardon has apparently decided to keep her for good. He’s not sure where she’s been all this time, he told the newspaper, since her last owner reportedly died five years ago.

Boomerang was never trained as a racing pigeon, but her extreme homing talents run in the family. Reardon also said that her father was once stolen by thieves but he escaped and walked the 60 miles home, on foot. His wings had been clipped.