Pigeons combine compass and landmark guidance in familiar route navigation

How do birds orient over familiar terrain? In the best studied avian species, the homing pigeon (Columba livia), two apparently independent primary mechanisms are currently debated: either memorized visual landmarks provide homeward guidance directly, or birds rely on a compass to home from familiar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2007-05, Vol.104 (18), p.7471-7476
Main Authors: Biro, Dora, Freeman, Robin, Meade, Jessica, Roberts, Stephen, Guilford, Tim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerial locomotion
Animal behavior
Animal cognition
Animal Migration - physiology
Animals
Biological Sciences
Birds
Columba livia
Columbidae - physiology
Compasses
Cues
Ecology
Ellipses
England
Global positioning systems
GPS
Homing
Homing Behavior - physiology
Homing pigeons
Landmarks
Navigation
Ornithology
Space Perception - physiology
Trajectories
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Summary:How do birds orient over familiar terrain? In the best studied avian species, the homing pigeon (Columba livia), two apparently independent primary mechanisms are currently debated: either memorized visual landmarks provide homeward guidance directly, or birds rely on a compass to home from familiar locations. Using miniature Global Positioning System tracking technology and clock-shift procedures, we set sun-compass and landmark information in conflict, showing that experienced birds can accurately complete their memorized routes by using landmarks alone. Nevertheless, we also find that route following is often consistently offset in the expected compass direction, faithfully reproducing the shape of the track, but in parallel. Thus, we demonstrate conditions under which compass orientation and landmark guidance must be combined into a system of simultaneous or oscillating dual control.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0701575104