How do pigeons know their way back home?
Pigeons are highly intelligent animals with the ability to memorise the geography of an area from an aerial photograph.
They can find their way home very well, they have fantastic memories.
Some birds navigate by the position of the stars and the sun. They may also use the magnetic field, of the earth.
They're able to detect the electromagnetic waves of the Earth, just in the same way a compass does.
This magnetic sense is known as magnetoreception. A pigeon hundreds of miles away from home can navigate a way back because,
It's going to use all the means it's got to find its way.
This report for 'Youngline’ was broadcast on 15 November 1979. The reporter is Martin Downes.
'Youngline' was a once weekly, half-hour magazine show for younger viewers. The first programme was broadcast on Tuesday, 23 November 1976. 'Youngline' continued until May 1984.
