Avian Navigation: Pigeon Homing as a Paradigm

Wallraff, Hans G.

How migratory birds can navigate home from their wintering grounds to their breeding sites over hundreds and thousands of kilometres has been an admired mystery over more than a century. Profound advances towards a solution of this problem have been achieved with a model bird, the homing pigeon. This monograph summarizes our current knowledge about pigeon homing, about the birds' application of a sun compass and a magnetic compass, of a visual topographical map within a familiar area and -- most surprisingly -- of an olfactory map using atmospheric chemosignals as indicators of position in distant unfamiliar areas.

Details

Published by: Springer

Publication Date: 2004-12-06

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9783540223856

DOI: 10.1007/b137573

Dimensions: 235cm x155cm

Pages: 229