Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-lfk5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-12T04:58:14.976Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Strategies of Young Pigeons during ‘Map’ Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2011

Ingo Schiffner ,
Tina Pavkovic ,
Bettina Siegmund  and
Roswitha Wiltschko
Ingo Schiffner
Affiliation:
(Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, J. W. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Tina Pavkovic
Affiliation:
(Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, J. W. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Bettina Siegmund
Affiliation:
(Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, J. W. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
Roswitha Wiltschko*
Affiliation:
(Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, J. W. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
*
(Email: wiltschko@bio.uni-frankfurt.de)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The routes of young, inexperienced pigeons released at four sites up to 13·5 km from the loft were recorded with GPS-based tracking devices. The routes were found to differ from those of old, experienced pigeons in several aspects: (1) Although being oriented when departing, young birds show more scatter and larger deviations from the home direction, but usually restrict their flights to a semicircle. (2) They apparently ignore prominent landmarks near the loft that are clearly visible. (3) Their tracks are typically more complex, consisting of a number of distinctive phases where the young birds head in different directions, which results in significantly longer routes, often exceeding the direct home distances more than four times. (4) At the same time, young birds seldom venture further away from the release site than the direct distance to home. Their behaviour can be interpreted as exploration to obtain new information on the distribution of navigational factors to be included in their still rudimentary navigational ‘map’. At the same time, their flights seem to include elements of safety, like anchoring the flights around the release site and a sense of distance, which help to reduce the chance of getting lost.

Keywords

Pigeons homingGPS-trackingMap learningExploration

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , July 2011 , pp. 431 - 448
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Baldaccini, N. E., Benvenuti, S., Fiaschi, V., Ioalè, P. and Papi, F. (1974). Pigeon homing: effects of manipulation of sensory experience at home site. Journal of Comparative Physiology, 94, 85–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldaccini, N. E., Benvenuti, S. and Fiaschi, V. (1976). Homing behaviour of pigeons confined to a new loft distant from their home. Monitore Zoologico Italiano, (N. S.) 10, 461–467.Google Scholar
Batschelet, E. (1981). Circular Statistics in Biology. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Biro, D., Guilford, T.Dell'Omo, G. and Lipp, H. P. (2002). How the viewing of familiar landscapes prior to release allows pigeons to home faster: evidence from GPS tracking. Journal of Experimental Biology, 205, 3833–3844.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Biro, D., Meade, J. and Guilford, T. (2004). Familiar route loyalty implies visual pilotage in the homing pigeon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 101, 17440–17443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braithwaite, V. A. (1993). When does previewing the landscape affect pigeon homing? Ethology, 95, 141–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gagliardo, A., Ioalè, J., Odetti, F. and Bingman, V. P. (2001). The ontogeny of the homing pigeon navigational map: evidence for a sensitive learning period. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 268, 197–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Graue, L. C. (1963). The effect of phase shifts in the day-night cycle on pigeon homing at distances of less than one mile. Ohio Journal of Science, 63, 214–217.Google Scholar
Grüter, M. and Wiltschko, R. (1990). Pigeon homing: the effect of local experience on initial orientation and homing success. Ethology, 84, 239–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ioalè, P., Papi, F., Fiaschi, V. and Baldaccini, N. E. (1978). Pigeon navigation: effects upon homing behaviour by reversing wind direction at the loft. Journal of Comparative Physiology, 128, 285–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeton, W. T. (1973). Release-site bias as a possible guide to the ‘map’ component in pigeon homing. Journal of Comparative Physiology, 86, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiepenheuer, J. (1986). A further analysis of the orientation behavior of homing pigeons released within magnetic anomalies. In: Biophysical Effects of Steady Magnetic Fields (Maret, G, Boccara, N. and Kiepenheuer, J.eds). Berlin: Springer Verlag, pp. 148–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kramer, G. (1957). Experiments in bird orientation and their interpretation. Ibis, 99, 196–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michener, M. and Walcott, C. 1967: Homing of single pigeons – analysis of tracks. Journal of Experimental Biology, 47, 99–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schiffner, I. and Wiltschko, R. (2009). Point of decision: when do pigeons decide to head home? Naturwissenschaften 96, 251–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmidt-Koenig, K. (1970). Ein Versuch, theoretisch mögliche Navigatonsverfahren von Vögeln zu klassifizieren und relevante sinnensphysiologische Probleme zu umreißen. Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoolologischen Gesesllschaft, 64, 234–244.Google Scholar
Wallraff, H. G. (1966). Über die Heimfindeorientierung von Brieftauben nach Haltung in verschieden-artigen Volieren. Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Physiologie, 52, 215–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallraff, H. G. (1970). Über die Flugrichtungen verfrachteter Brieftauben in Abhängigkeit vom Heimatort und vom Ort der Freilassung. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 27, 303–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallraff, H. G. (1974). Das Navigationssystem der Vögel. Schriftenreihe Kybernetik. München: Oldenbourg Verlag.Google Scholar
Wiltschko, R. (1983). The ontogeny of orientation in young pigeons. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A, 76, 701–708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiltschko, R. (1992). The flying behavior of homing pigeons, Columba livia, immediately after release. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 31, 270–290.Google Scholar
Wiltschko, R. and Wiltschko, W. (1978). Evidence for the use of magnetic outward-journey information in homing pigeons. Naturwissenschaften, 65, 112–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiltschko, R. and Wiltschko, W. (2009). Avian navigation. Auk, 126, 717–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiltschko, R., Schiffner, I. and Siegmund, B. (2007). Homing flights of pigeons over familiar terrain. Animal Behaviour, 74, 1229–1240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiltschko, W., Wiltschko, R. and Walcott, C. (1987). Pigeon homing: different effects of olfactory deprivation in different countires. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 21, 333–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiltschko, W. and Wiltschko, R. (1982). The role of outward journey information in the orientation of homing pigeons. In: Avian Navigation (Papi, F. and Wallraff, H.G.eds). Berlin: Springer Verlag, pp. 239–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar