Pigeons are known to use several methods to navigate, but perhaps the least known is sound – new research has found it to be more important than was thought.
Homing pigeons are well-known to be great navigators, returning to their home lofts using landmarks, orientation by the sun, the earth's magnetic field and also the spatial distribution of atmospheric odours . However, it seems that sound waves may play a hitherto unsuspected role in this mysterious ability.
Using an 'acoustic ray tracing program', scientists from Cornell University, New York (NY), USA, were able to trace sound waves generated by movements deep in the oceans and affected by different densities in the earth's crust, and found that they are key to pigeons' abilities to find their home loft.
Lees meer: Birdwatch Magazine
Homing pigeons are well-known to be great navigators, returning to their home lofts using landmarks, orientation by the sun, the earth's magnetic field and also the spatial distribution of atmospheric odours . However, it seems that sound waves may play a hitherto unsuspected role in this mysterious ability.
Using an 'acoustic ray tracing program', scientists from Cornell University, New York (NY), USA, were able to trace sound waves generated by movements deep in the oceans and affected by different densities in the earth's crust, and found that they are key to pigeons' abilities to find their home loft.
Lees meer: Birdwatch Magazine
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