Homing pigeons as a model for avian navigation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Wiltschko ◽  
Roswitha Wiltschko
Keyword(s):  
Homing Pigeons ◽  
Avian Navigation

scholarly journals Learning multiple routes in homing pigeons

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 20140119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Flack ◽  
Tim Guilford ◽  
Dora Biro
Keyword(s):  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Central Place Foraging ◽  
Homing Pigeons ◽  
Multiple Routes ◽  
Avian Navigation ◽  
Multiple Releases ◽  
Training Protocol

The aerial lifestyle of central-place foraging birds allows wide-ranging movements, raising fundamental questions about their remarkable navigation and memory systems. For example, we know that pigeons ( Columba livia ), long-standing models for avian navigation, rely on individually distinct routes when homing from familiar sites. But it remains unknown how they cope with the task of learning several routes in parallel. Here, we examined how learning multiple routes influences homing in pigeons. We subjected groups of pigeons to different training protocols, defined by the sequence in which they were repeatedly released from three different sites, either sequentially, in rotation or randomly. We observed that pigeons from all groups successfully developed and applied memories of the different release sites (RSs), irrespective of the training protocol, and that learning several routes in parallel did not impair their capacity to quickly improve their homing efficiency over multiple releases. Our data also indicated that they coped with increasing RS uncertainty by adjusting both their initial behaviour upon release and subsequent homing efficiency. The results of our study broaden our understanding of avian route following and open new possibilities for studying learning and memory in free-flying animals.

Two Direction Experiments with Homing Pigeons and Their Bearing on the Problem of Goal Orientation

1957 ◽  
Vol 91 (856) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Kramer ◽  
J. G. Pratt ◽  
Ursula V. St. Paul
Keyword(s):  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Homing Pigeons

Reconstruction of the flight paths of homing pigeons by means of a flight-path recorder

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 304-305
Author(s):  
P. Dall'Antonia ◽  
P. Ioalé ◽  
F. Mango ◽  
F. Papi
Keyword(s):  
Flight Path ◽  
Homing Pigeons

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

Short distance phase shifts revisited: tracking clock-shifted homing pigeons (Rock Dove Columba livia) close to the loft

Ibis ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICHARD HOLLAND ◽  
FRANSISCO BONADONNA ◽  
LUIGI DALL'ANTONIA ◽  
SILVANO BENVENUTI ◽  
THERESA BURT DE PERERA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Short Distance ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Phase Shifts ◽  
Homing Pigeons

scholarly journals Asymmetrical Processing of Olfactory Input in the Piriform Cortex Mediates “Activation” of the Avian Navigation Circuitry

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 745-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo E. Jorge ◽  
Paulo A.M. Marques ◽  
Belmiro V. Pinto ◽  
John B. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Olfactory Input ◽  
Avian Navigation
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