Scandaroons are a variety of homing pigeon. The name derives from Iskanderun, a seaport in Syria, called after Alexander the Great, so the bird of this title carries a noble tradition. The story is set in rural Devon shortly after WW I.

During that war, pigeons carried messages from outposts to home base. They probably looked for a peaceful retirement, but their ancient enemies, the falcons and hawks, had other ideas. Thus the story is about conflicts within nature and their reverberations in man.