Navigation of homing pigeons was investigated by tracking their homeward flights from a light airplane. Released on successive days from a single training point 35 miles (56 kilometers) from home, individual pigeons, each carrying a transmitter, were repeatedly tracked back to their loft. No two tracks covered the same ground for even short distances, yet all tracks were within 10 miles of a straight line. Results from further releases north and south of the training point suggest that pigeons often use three methods in sequence to find home: compass orientation, bi-coordinate navigation, and orientation by familiar landmarks. (Author)


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    Title :

    Navigation of Single Homing Pigeons: Airplane Observations by Radio Tracking


    Contributors:
    M. C. Michener (author) / C. Walcott (author)

    Publication date :

    1966


    Size :

    4 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English






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