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Orientation of anosmatic pigeons

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Summary

Test releases performed at five symmetrically arranged sites around the loft, at a distance of 78–99 km from it, showed that 1) anosmatic birds transported without alteration of the earth's magnetic field were completely random-oriented, 2) anosmatic birds transported in a container inside which the intensity of the magnetic field was strongly reduced were unable to orientate homewards and mostly departed according to a preferred compass direction, 3) control birds, which could smell, and were transported without alteration of the magnetic field, were homeward oriented and performed better in homing than both experimental groups. The conclusion is that anosmatic birds are unable to detect home direction at unfamiliar sites and that magnetic stimuli perceived during the outward journey are unable to substitute olfactory cues.

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Abbreviations

PCD :

preferred compass direction

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Biologia generale dell Università di Pisa, Via A. Volta, 6, I-56100, Pisa, Italy

    Floriano Papi, Giovanna Mariotti, Augusto Foa' & Vittorio Fiaschi

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  1. Floriano Papi
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  2. Giovanna Mariotti
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  3. Augusto Foa'
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  4. Vittorio Fiaschi
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Supported by a grant from the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

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Papi, F., Mariotti, G., Foa', A. et al. Orientation of anosmatic pigeons. J. Comp. Physiol. 135, 227–232 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00657250

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00657250

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