Abstract
It is thought that young homing pigeons are able to use information acquired en route for their initial homeward orientation. However, the cues involved and mechanisms utilised are under discussion. Blocking light-dependent route-specific information during the first leg of an outward journey detour, together with analysis of pigeons that were raised under different loft conditions, allowed us to correctly evaluate the functioning of this mechanism and, more generally, the navigational map of birds. Pigeons from the same stock were raised and kept in two different lofts. The birds in the experimental groups were transported to the release sites via detours, and light-dependent information was denied during the first half of the outward journey (no compass information was available). Control birds were transported by the most direct route and had access to all available information. In general, the results showed that the low-loft birds preferred to use magnetic compass cues, whereas the high-loft birds preferred to use navigational map cues to collect information of the first part of the outward journey. The impairments observed in the homing performances of the experimental groups highlight the reliability of information collected inside the map area. Relevant to an understanding of the route-reversal mechanism was the evidence that this mechanism is able to function in the absence of compass information (birds raised in a wind-exposed loft show a detour effect). In systems where directional information could be provided by multiple sources, processing and extracting accurate course trajectories through a common mechanism may prove more efficient and reliable.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Prof. Wolfgang Wiltschko for important methodological advices. For help with the experiments: Margarida Simões and José Santa Rita. For logistical support: Jardim Zoologico de Lisboa and Federação Portuguesa de Columbofilia. This project was financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (PRAXIS. SFRH/BD/1126/2000).
The present research adhered to the current laws of Portugal on animal welfare (licence no. 39086 from the Federação Portuguesa de Columbofilia), and it complies with the laws for animal studies DL 129/92 that cross to the Portuguese law, the European Guideline 86/609/CEE.
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Jorge, P., Silva, I. & Vicente, L. Loft features reveal the functioning of the young pigeon’s navigational system. Naturwissenschaften 95, 223–231 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-007-0321-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-007-0321-4