Our homing experiment provided insight into both homing ability and habitat quality.
Budzynski, C. A., Strasser, R. & Bingman, V. P. The effects of zinc sulphate anosmia on homing pigeons, Columba livia, in a homing and a non-homing experiment.
We used data gathered in a previous study of 22 experienced homing pigeons, in which birds had formed habitual routes from three different sites: Greenhill Farm (distance and direction to home: 8.6 km, 197°, 12 subjects), Weston Wood (10.7 km, 221°, six subjects), and Church Hanborough (5.3 km, 129°, four subjects).
Older, more experienced homing pigeons may not be suitable for training.
We provided a group of homing pigeons with training experience in which they viewed, through a single transparent vertical face of an otherwise opaque release box, an approximately 140° segment of the landscape for 5 min before release.
If homing ability relies on experience, a piloting mechanism based on spatial learning of landmarks is implied.
Furthermore, whereas A-pigeons experienced one homing route after the other, B- and C-pigeons had to learn all three routes simultaneously, either in a fixed or random order, respectively.
It is standard practice in psychotherapy to try to trace the routes of a patients' distress to childhood, but this was the first time that Schaverien — a psychotherapist for more than 20 years — had found herself homing in on a childhood experience, specifically of boarding school.
One crucial question in disentangling different orientation mechanisms is whether or not homing is dependent on previous experience with the area.
When homing pigeons leave home.
