A man holds two pigeons before participating in a pigeon race in Palu, Indonesia, July 7, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)

After a month away from home, a homing pigeon recently returned to its coop in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province, with a letter from a stranger that has sparked a friendship.  

The note, written by a man surnamed Tang, said he found the injured pigeon and nursed it back to health. "You are better now and can fly home. I only ask for a report that tells me you made it home safe and sound," reads the note that included Tang's number and address. 

"The pigeon flew into the coop when I blew the whistle calling my pigeons back for feeding. I welcomed it home and found the note tied to the pigeon's leg," Gao Feng, the owner of the lost pigeon who raises more than a dozen birds on the roof of his building, said in a clip posted by Pear Video. 

Gao said he took ten of his birds to a competition in Central China's Henan Province in early November and one never returned. 

The pigeon was found by Tang when it landed on the roof of a factory in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province where he works, the report said. 

"It looked weak and sick. I gave it medicine and food and it gradually recovered," said Tang. 

Gao and Tang have been in contact with each other and the two men plan to meet in Suqian on New Year's day. 

"I really admire how they were connected in the same way our ancestors used to communicate," said a netizen.

Global Times