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Cues indicating location in pigeon navigation

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Abstract

Domesticated Rock Pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica) have been selected for returning home after being displaced. They appear to use many of the physical cue sources available in the natural environment for Map-and-Compass navigation. Two compass mechanisms that have been well documented in pigeons are a time-compensated sun compass and a magnetic inclination compass. Location-finding, or map, mechanisms have been more elusive. Visual landmarks, magnetic fields, odors, gravity and now also infrasound have been proposed as sources of information on location. Even in highly familiar locations, pigeons appear to neither use nor need landmarks and can even return to the loft while wearing frosted lenses. Direct and indirect evidence indicates magnetic field information influences pigeon navigation in ways that are consistent with magnetic map components. The role of odors is unclear; it might be motivational in nature rather than navigational. The influence of gravity must be further analyzed. Experiments with infrasound have been interpreted in the sense that they provide information on the home direction, but this hypothesis is inconsistent with the Map-and-Compass Model. All these factors appear to be components of a multifactorial system, with the pigeons being opportunistic, preferring those cues that prove most suitable in their home region. This has made understanding the roles of individual cues challenging.

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Acknowledgments

Mark E. Deutschlander, Bethany Thurber-Duggar, and Günther K.H. Zupanc provided many helpful comments on the manuscript. We are grateful for their help.

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  1. 826 E. 1650th Rd, Baldwin City, KS, 66006, USA

    Robert C. Beason

  2. FB Biowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 113, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Wolfgang Wiltschko

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Correspondence to Wolfgang Wiltschko.

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Beason, R.C., Wiltschko, W. Cues indicating location in pigeon navigation. J Comp Physiol A 201, 961–967 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-015-1027-2

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