TORONTO 鈥 A pigeon has been stealing poppies from the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and making a nest out of the flowers in the alcove of a stained glass window.

鈥淓ach day the pigeon has been flying down鈥 to steal poppies, carefully crafting a nest in the lead-up to Remembrance Day in an alcove above the stained-glass window of a wounded Australian soldier,鈥 the

The poignancy of the bird using the unusual nest materials is not lost on the Memorial鈥檚 staff, as the website explores the history of soldiers using pigeons during wartime.

鈥淏etween 1942 and 1943, pigeon fanciers across the country gave some 13,500 trained pigeons to the army for signals use purposes,鈥 the website says. 鈥淭here are lots of stories of pigeons valiantly going forward and saving people鈥檚 lives.鈥