Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Swallow aviary design

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Swallow aviary design[edit]

Original - Proposed architectural design for a French military aviary to house swallows as messenger birds, based upon a scheme by Jean Desbouvrie, 1889.
Reason
A serious plan for an aviary which, upon further research, absolutely demanded a new article about the man who proposed it. Possible April Fool's Day material here: Jean Desbouvrie received international attention for his efforts to train swallows when he persuaded the French government to study them as an alternative to war pigeons. The experiments didn't go very far. He also received press coverage for one other reason: the Paris Academy of Medicine published a report on a preventive cure he claimed to have found for hangovers, which he had tested on himself.
Articles this image appears in
Jean Desbouvrie, Aviary#History
Creator
F. Meriy

Promoted File:Military aviary2.jpg MER-C 08:19, 12 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]