Remains of bird found in chimney carried WWII message

Experts say the skeletal remains of a pigeon discovered in the chimney of a house in southern England carried a mysterious, long-forgotten message from World War II.

Historians at Britain's Second World War-era code breaking headquarters say the bird was almost certainly returning from Nazi-occupied France during the June 1944 D-Day invasion.

Bletchley Park says that a radio blackout imposed on Allied forces at the time meant that messages about the progress of the invasion were dispatched by pigeon across the Channel.

What the message says remains unknown. It was coded, an unusual measure generally reserved for the most sensitive secrets.

Bletchley Park said Thursday that one of its curators is now trying to unravel the message using World War II logbooks.