Skip to main content

Birds

  • Chapter
Animal Homing

Part of the book series: Chapman & Hall Animal Behaviour Series ((CHABS))

Abstract

Within the animal kingdom, birds are unrivalled at covering large distances quickly and passing over geographic barriers. They use this power to reach food supplies, go where environment conditions are most suitable, and escape predators. Many bird species are migratory and regularly shuttle between winter and summer quarters, which may be far apart. The marked site fidelity of most species both when breeding and in winter, often even at stop-over sites, makes birds an ideal object of homing studies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Able, K.P. (1980) Mechanisms of orientation, navigation, and homing, in Animal Migration, Orientation and Navigation (ed. S.A. Gautreaux, Jr), Academic Press, New York, pp. 283–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Able, K.P. (1989) Skylight polarization patterns and the orientation of migratory birds. J. Exp. Biol., 141, 241–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Able, K.P. (1991) The development of migratory orientation mechanisms, in Orientation in Birds (ed. P. Berthold), Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 166–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Able, K.P., Gergits, W.F., Cherry, J.D. and Terrill, S.B. (1984) Homing behavior of wood thrushes (Hylocychla mustelina). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 15, 39–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alerstam, T. (1990) Bird Migration, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alleva, E., Baldaccini, N.E., Foà, A. and Visalberghi, E. (1975) Homing behaviour of the rock pigeon. Monitore Zool. Ital., N.S., 9, 213–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, R.R. (1978) The Evolutionary Ecology of Animal Migration, Hodder and Stoughton, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, R.R. (1984) Bird Navigation: the solution of a mystery?, Hodder and Stoughton, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldaccini, N.E., Benvenuti, S., Fiaschi, V. and Papi, F. (1975) Pigeon navigation: effects of wind deflection at home cage on homing behaviour. J. Comp. Physiol., 99, 177–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bang, B.G. and Wenzel, B.M. (1985) Nasal cavity and olfactory system, in Form and Function in Birds, Vol. 3 (eds A.S. King and J. McLelland), Academic Press, New York, pp. 165–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barlow, J.S. (1964) Inertial navigation as a basis for animal navigation. J. Theor. Biol., 6, 76–117.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beason, R.C. and Semm, P. (1991) Sensory basis of bird orientation, in Orientation in Birds, (ed. P. Berthold), Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 106–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benvenuti, S., Brown, A.I., Gagliardo, A. and Nozzolini, M. (1990) Are American homing pigeons genetically different from Italian ones? J. Exp. Biol., 148, 235–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benvenuti, S. and Wallraff, H. G. (1985) Pigeon navigation: site simulation by means of atmospheric odours. J. Comp. Physiol., 156A, 737–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berthold, P. (ed.) (1991a) Orientation in Birds, Birkhäuser, Basel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berthold, P. (1991b) Spatiotemporal programmes and genetics of orientation, in Orientation in Birds (ed. P. Berthold), Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 86–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berthold, P. and Querner, U. (1981) Genetic basis of migratory behavior in European warblers. Science, 212, 77–9.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bingman, V.P., Bagnoli, P., Ioalè, P. and Casini, G. (1989) Behavioral and anatomical studies of the avian hippocampus, in The Hippocampus — New Vistas, Neurology and Neurobiology Series (eds V. Chan-Palay and S.L. Palay), Alan Liss, New York, pp. 377–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bingman, V.P., Ioalè, P., Casini, G. and Bagnoli, P. (1988) Hippocampal ablated homing pigeons show a persistent impairment in the time taken to return home. J. Comp. Physiol., 163A, 559–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bingman, V.P., Ioalè, P., Casini, G. and Bagnoli, P. (1990) The avian hippocampus: evidence for a role in the development of the homing pigeon navigational map. Behavl. Neurosci., 104, 906–11.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bingman, V.P. and Mackie, A. (1992) Importance of olfaction for homing pigeon navigation in Ohio, USA. Ethol. Ecol. Evol., in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bingman, V.P. and Yates, G. (1992) Hippocampal lesions impair navigational learning in experienced homing pigeons. Behavl. Neurosci., in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, S.T. (1967) Migratory orientation in the Indigo bunting, Passerina cyanea. Auk, 84, 309–42, 463–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, S.T. (1970) Celestial rotation: its importance in the development of migratory orientation. Science, 170, 1198–201.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, S.T. (1975a) The stellar-orientation system of a migratory bird. Scient. Am., 233, 102–11.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, S.T. (1975b) Migration: orientation and navigation, in Avian Biology, Vol. 5 (eds D.S. Farner and J.R. King), Academic Press, New York, pp. 129–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etienne, A.S., Maurer, R. and Saucy, F. (1988) Limitations in the assessment of path dependent information. Behaviour, 106, 81–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gagliardo, A. and Divac, I. (1992) Effects of ablation of the equivalent of the mammalian prefrontal cortex on pigeon homing. Behav. Brain Res., (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganzhorn, J.U. (1990) Konditionierung verfrachteter Brieftauben: eine ‘neue’ Methode zur Analyse der Karte von Brieftauben. J. Orn., 131, 21–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, D.R. (1969) The physiology and geophysics of bird navigation. Q. Rev. Biol., 44, 255–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, D.R. (1976) The audibility of frog choruses to migrating birds. Anim. Behav., 24, 421–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gwinner, E. (ed.) (1990) Bird Migration: physiology and ecophysiology, Springer Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helbig, A.J. (1990) Depolarization of natural skylight disrupts orientation of an avian nocturnal migrant. Experientia, 46, 755–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helbig, A., Berthold, P. and Wiltschko, W. (1989) Migratory orientation of blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla): population-specific shifts of direction during the autumn. Ethology, 82, 307–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann, K. (1954) Versuche zu der im Richtungsfinden der Vögel enthaltenen Zeitschätzung. Z. Tiepsychol., 11, 453–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ioalè, P., Nozzolini, M. and Papi, F. (1990) Homing pigeons do extract directional information from olfactory stimuli. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 26, 301–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ioalè, P., Wallraff, H.G., Papi, F. and Foà, A. (1983) Long-distance releases to determine the spatial range of pigeon navigation. Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 76A, 733–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keeton, W.T. (1980) Avian orientation and navigation: new developments in an old mystery, in Acta XVII Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici (1978) (ed. R. Nöhring), Dt. Ornithol. Ges., Berlin, pp. 137–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenyon, K.W. and Rice, D.W. (1958) Homing in Laysan albatrosses. Condor, 60, 3–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiepenheuer, J. (1985) Can pigeons be fooled about the actual release site position by presenting them information from another site? Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 18, 75–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiepenheuer, J. (1986) Are site-specific airborne stimuli relevant for pigeon navigation only when matched by other release-site information? Naturwissenschaften, 73, 42–3.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koskimies, J. (1950) The life of the swift, Micropus apus L. in relation to the weather. Ann. Acad. Sci. Fenn, 4A Biol., 15, 1–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, G. (1951) Eine neue Methode zur Erforschung der Zugorientierung und die bisher damit erzielten Ergebnisse. Proc. X Ornithol. Congr. Uppsala 1951, pp. 269–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, G. (1953) Wird die Sonnenhöhe bei der Heimfindeorientierung verwertet? J. Orn., 94, 201–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, G. (1959) Uber die Heimfindeleistung unter Sichtbegrenzung aufgewachsener Brieftauben. Verh. Dt. Zool. Ges., 52, 168–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, G. and Saint-Paul, U. (1954) Das Heimkehrvermögen gekäfigter Brieftauben. Orn. Beob., 51, 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreithen, M.L. (1979) The sensory world of the homing pigeon, in Neural Mechanisms of Behavior in the Pigeon (eds A.M. Granda and J.H. Maxwell), Plenum, New York, pp. 21–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lack, D. (1958) Swifts over the sea at night. Weather movement of swifts 1955–1957. Bird Study, 5, 126–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, G.V.T. (1951) The experimental investigation of navigation in homing pigeons. J. Exp. Biol., 28, 508–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, G.V.T. (1953) Sun navigation in homing pigeons. J. Exp. Biol., 30, 243–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, G.V.T. (1955) Bird Navigation, 1st edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, G.V.T. (1968) Bird Navigation, 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merkel, F.W. and Wiltschko, W. (1965) Magnetismus und Richtungsfinden zugunruhiger Rotkehlchen (Erithacus rubecula). Vogelwarte, 23, 71–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mewaldt, L.R. (1964) California sparrows return from displacement to Maryland. Science, 146, 941–2.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, B.R. (1988) Magnetic field and orientation in homing pigeons: experiments of the late W.T. Keeton. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A., 85, 4907–9.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, F.R. (1987) Sunset and the orientation behaviour of migrating birds. Biol. Rev., 62, 65–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neuss, M. and Wallraff, H. G. (1988) Orientation of displaced homing pigeons with shifted circadian clocks: prediction vs observation. Naturwissenschaften, 75, 363–5.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F. (1986) Pigeon navigation: solved problems and open questions. Monitore Zool. Ital, N.S., 20, 471–517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F. (1989) Pigeons use olfactory cues to navigate. Ethol. Ecol. Evol., 1, 219–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F. (1991) Olfactory navigation in birds, in Orientation in Birds (ed. P. Berthold), Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 52–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F. and Casini, G. (1990) Pigeons with ablated pyriform cortex home from familiar but not from unfamiliar sites. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A., 87, 3783–7.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F., Fiore, L., Fiaschi, V. and Benvenuti, S. (1971) The influence of olfactory nerve section on the homing capacity of carrier pigeons. Monitore Zool. Ital., N.S., 5, 265–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F., Fiore, L., Fiaschi, V. and Benvenuti, S. (1972) Olfaction and homing in pigeons. Monitore Zool. Ital., N.S., 6, 85–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F., Ioalè, P., Fiaschi, V., Benvenuti, S. and Baldaccini, N.E. (1984) Pigeon homing: the effect of outward-journey detours on orientation. Monitore Zool. Ital, N.S., 18, 53–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F., Ioalè, P., Dali’Antonia, P. and Benvenuti, S. (1991) Homing strategies of pigeons investigated by clock-shift and flight path reconstruction. Naturwissenschaften, 78, 370–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F., Luschi, P. and Limonta, P. (1992) Orientation-disturbing magnetic treatment affects the pigeon opioid system. J. Exp. Biol., 166, 169–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papi, F., Maffei, L. and Giongo, F. (1985) Pineal body and bird navigation: new experiments on pinealectomized pigeons. Z. Tierpsychol., 67, 257–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennycuick, C.J. (1960) The physical basis of astronavigation in birds: theoretical considerations. J. Exp. Biol., 37, 573–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perdeck, A.C. (1958) Two types of orientation in migrating starlings, Sturnus vulgaris L., and chaffinches, Fringilla coelebs L., as revealed by displacement experiments. Ardea, 46, 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, W.J. (1991) Wind and orientation of migrating birds: a review, in Orientation in Birds (ed. P. Berthold), Birkäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 226–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saint-Paul, U. von (1982) Do geese use path integration for walking home?, in Avian Navigation (eds F. Papi and H.G. Wallraff), Springer, Berlin, pp. 298–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sauer, F. (1957) Die Sternenorientierung nächtlich ziehender Grasmücken. (Sylvia atricapilla, borin and curruca). Z. Tierpsychol., 14, 29–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Koenig, K. (1958) Experimentelle Einflussnahme auf die 24-Stunden-Periodik bei Brieftauben und deren Auswirkungen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Heimfindevermögens. Z. Tierpsychol., 15, 301–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Koenig, K. (1987) Bird navigation: has olfactory orientation solved the problem? Q. Rev. Biol., 62, 31–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Koenig, K. and Ganzhorn, J.U. (1991) On the problem of bird navigation. Perspect. Ethol., 9, 261–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Koenig, K., Ganzhorn, J.U. and Ranvaud, R. (1991) The sun compass, in Orientation in Birds (ed. P. Berthold), Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Koenig, K. and Schlichte, H.J. (1972) Homing of pigeons with impaired vision. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A., 69, 2446–7.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Semm, P. and Demaine, C. (1986) Neurophysiological properties of magnetic cells in the visual system of the pigeon. J. Comp. Physiol., 159, 619–25.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Semm, P., Nohr, D., Demaine, C. and Wiltschko, W. (1984) Neural basis of the magnetic compass: interactions of visual, magnetic and vestibular inputs in the pigeon’s brain. J. Comp. Physiol., 155, 283–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ugolini, A. (1987) Visual information acquired during displacement and initial orientation in Polistes gallicus L. (Hymenoptera, Vespidae). Anim. Behav., 35, 590–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldvogel, J. A. (1989) Olfactory orientation by birds, in Current Ornithology, Vol. 6 (ed. D.M. Power), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 269–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H. G. (1970) Über die Flugrichtungen verfrachteter Brieftauben in Abhängigkeit vom Heimatort und vom Ort der Freilassung. Z. Tierpsychol., 27, 303–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H.G. (1972) An approach toward an analysis of the pattern recognition involved in the stellar orientation of birds, in Animal Orientation and Navigation (eds J.R. Galler et al.), NASA SP-262, Washington, DC, pp. 211–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H.G. (1974) Das Navigationssystem der Vögel, R. Oldembourg Verlag, München.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H.G. (1980) Does pigeon homing depend on stimuli perceived during displacement? I. Experiment in Germany. J. Comp. Physiol., 139, 193–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H.G. (1984) Migration and navigation in birds: a present-state survey with some digressions to related fish behaviour, in Mechanisms of Migration in Fishes (eds J.D. McCleave et al.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 509–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H.G. (1985) Theoretical aspects of avian navigation, in Acta XVIII Congr. Int. Ornith. (eds V.D. Ilyichev and V.M. Gavrilov), Nauka, Moscow, pp. 284–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H.G. (1989a) Simulated navigation based on unreliable sources of information (models on pigeon homing, Part 1). J. Theor. Biol., 137, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H. G. (1989b) Simulated navigation based on assumed gradients of atmospheric trace gases (models on pigeon homing, Part 2). J. Theor. Biol., 138, 511–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H. G. (1989c) The whereabouts of non-homing homing pigeons: recoveries of normal and anosmic birds, in Orientation and Navigation: birds, humans and other animals, Royal Institute of Navigation, London, paper no. 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H. G. (1990) Navigation by homing pigeons. Ethol. Ecol Evol., 2, 81–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H. G. (1991) Conceptual approaches to avian navigation systems, in Orientation in Birds (ed. P. Berthold), Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 128–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallraff, H. G. and Foà, A. (1981) Pigeon navigation: charcoal filter removes relevant information from environmental air. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 9, 67–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiten, A. (1978) Operant studies on pigeon orientation and navigation. Anim. Behav., 26, 571–610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkie, D.M., Wilson, RJ. and Kardal, S. (1989) Pigeons discriminate pictures of a geographic location. Anim. Learn. Behav., 17, 163–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, T.C. and Williams, J.M. (1990) The orientation of transoceanic migrants, in Bird Migration: physiology and ecophysiology (ed. E. Gwinner), Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 7–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko, R. and Wiltschko, W. (1989) Pigeon homing: olfactory orientation — a paradox. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 24, 163–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko, W. (1968) Über den Einfluss statischer Magnetfelder auf die Zugorientierung der Rotkehlchen (Erithacus rubecula). Z. Tierpsychol., 25, 537–58.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko, W. and Wiltschko, R. (1972) Magnetic compass of European robins. Science, 176, 62–4.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko, W. and Wiltschko, R. (1988) Magnetic orientation in birds. Curr. Orn., 5, 67–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko, W. and Wiltschko, R. (1991) Magnetic orientation and celestial cues in migratory orientation, in Orientation in Birds (ed. P. Berthold), Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, pp. 16–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko, W., Wiltschko, R., Grüter, M. and Kowalski, U. (1987) Pigeon homing: early experience determines what factors are used for navigation. Naturwissenschaften, 74, 196–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeagley, H.L. (1947) A preliminary study of a physical basis of bird navigation. J. Appl. Phys., 18, 1035–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeagley, H.L. (1951) A preliminary study of a physical basis of bird navigation. Part II. J. Appl. Phys., 22, 746–60.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Papi, F., Wallraff, H.G. (1992). Birds. In: Papi, F. (eds) Animal Homing. Chapman & Hall Animal Behaviour Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1588-9_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1588-9_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4691-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-1588-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics