Pigeon Homing along Highways and Exits

Abstract

Our data demonstrate the existence of a learned road-following homing strategy of pigeons and the use of particular topographical points for final navigation to the loft. Apparently, the better-directed early stages of the flight compensated the added final detour. During early and middle stages of the flight, following large and distinct roads is likely to reflect stabilization of a compass course rather than the presence of a mental roadmap. A cognitive (roadmap) component manifested by repeated crossing of preferred topographical points, including highway exits, is more likely when pigeons approach the loft area. However, it might only be expected in pigeons raised in an area characterized by navigationally relevant highway systems.

Flock flying improves pigeons' homing: GPS track analysis of individual flyers versus small groups

“…However, in such models directional errors are assumed to be random. In our case, the directional error is a systematic bias introduced by previous development of individual stereotyped routes, typically observed after repeated releases from a familiar location (Biro et al 2004;Lipp et al 2004). The reasons underlying development of stereotyped routes are still unclear.…”

“…To find reasons for the prolonged flight paths of singly flying birds, we also measured the total cumulative length of flight tracks along longitudinal landmarks, such as highways, roads, and coastline (known to be followed by pigeons released from this place, Lipp et al 2004). Individually flying pigeons in S1 flew along the main roads (particularly the highway) significantly more than flock-flying pigeons (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, one-tailed: p < 0.07).…”

“…The development of small GPS data-loggers now permits precise reconstruction of the homeward journey of pigeons (Steiner et al 2000;Von Hünerbein et al 2000;Biro et al 2002;Lipp et al 2004), and thus a re-assessment of the problem.…”

“…On the other hand, GPS tracking studies have shown that repeated releases from a familiar location entails stereotyped routes during homing (Biro et al 2004), often along longitudinal landmarks such as highways and railroads (Lipp et al 2004).…”

Commuting fruit bats beneficially modulate their flight in relation to wind

“…The technological progress that allows the high-resolution tracking of animals in this study as well as in other studies [37,48] enhances the understanding of different aspects of animal movement ecology [43]. Recently, high-resolution atmospheric simulations have been applied to study how meteorological conditions may shape the soaring behaviour of migrating birds [10,15].…”