Initial orientation of homing pigeons at the magnetic equator with and without sun compass

1983 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Ranvaud ◽  
K. Schmidt-Koenig ◽  
J. Kiepenheuer ◽  
O. C. Gasparotto
Keyword(s):  
Initial Orientation ◽  
Magnetic Equator ◽  
Sun Compass ◽  
Homing Pigeons

The Initial Orientation of Homing Pigeons at the Magnetic Equator: Compass Mechanisms and the Effect of Applied Magnets

1991 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-314
Author(s):  
RONALD RANVAUD ◽  
KLAUS SCHMIDT-KOENIG ◽  
JÖRG U. GANZHORN ◽  
JAKOB KIEPENHEUER ◽  
ODIVAL C. GASPAROTTO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Magnetic Equator ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Sun Compass ◽  
Homing Pigeons ◽  
Directional Preference ◽  
Compass Mechanisms ◽  
Inclination Compass

Homing pigeons are thought to use the earth's magnetic field for direction finding. Though the sensory system and the characteristics of the magnetic field used are unknown, it can be hypothesized that pigeons have an inclination compass, as do some migratory birds. When released at the magnetic equator, this inclination compass ought to be suspended. In addition, releasing pigeons when the sun is at or very close to the zenith renders the sun compass inoperational. However, released under these conditions, homing pigeons are not disorientated. Though they vanish on average in a different direction from pigeons released when the sun compass is available, they still show a directional preference close to magnetic north. This directional preference could be disrupted in some years by the application of magnets to the pigeons' back. In other years this treatment as well as another magnetic treatment did not produce any difference between experimental pigeons and controls. These results confirm once more that, if magnetic effects exist, they are of a rather discrete nature.

Short-term residence in deflector lofts alters initial orientation of homing pigeons

1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry A. Waldvogel ◽  
John B. Phillips ◽  
Douglas R. McCorkle ◽  
William T. Keeton
Keyword(s):  
Initial Orientation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Homing Pigeons

Olfactory lateralization in homing pigeons: initial orientation of birds receiving a unilateral olfactory input

2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1511-1516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Gagliardo ◽  
Tommaso Pecchia ◽  
Maria Savini ◽  
Francesca Odetti ◽  
Paolo Ioalè ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Initial Orientation ◽  
Homing Pigeons ◽  
Olfactory Input

scholarly journals Is There Visual Lateralisation of the Sun Compass in Homing Pigeons?

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Griffiths ◽  
Richard Holland ◽  
Anna Gagliardo
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Natural Setting ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Sun Compass ◽  
Homing Pigeons ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Conflict Condition ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cue Conflict

Functional lateralisation in the avian visual system can be easily studied by testing monocularly occluded birds. The sun compass is a critical source of navigational information in birds, but studies of visual asymmetry have focussed on cues in a laboratory rather than a natural setting. We investigate functional lateralisation of sun compass use in the visual system of homing pigeons trained to locate food in an outdoor octagonal arena, with a coloured beacon in each sector and a view of the sun. The arena was rotated to introduce a cue conflict, and the experimental groups, a binocular treatment and two monocular treatments, were tested for their directional choice. We found no significant difference in test orientation between the treatments, with all groups showing evidence of both sun compass and beacon use, suggesting no complete functional lateralisation of sun compass use within the visual system. However, reduced directional consistency of binocular vs. monocular birds may reveal a conflict between the two hemispheres in a cue conflict condition. Birds using the right hemisphere were more likely to choose the intermediate sector between the training sector and the shifted training beacon, suggesting a possible asymmetry in favour of the left eye/right hemisphere (LE/RH) when integrating different cues.

Changes in the short-term deflector loft effect are linked to the sun compass of homing pigeons

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry A. Waldvogel ◽  
John B. Phillips ◽  
A. Irene Brown
Keyword(s):  
The Sun ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sun Compass ◽  
Homing Pigeons
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