Abstract
Pigeons flying above temperature inversion and related low-stratus layers appear to lack important navigational cues, and a reinterpretation of Wagner’s 1978 study suggests that these cues are low-frequency acoustic signals (infrasound). Wagner released homing pigeons above opaque stratus over the Swiss Plateau to determine whether they could locate their loft beneath it. Birds above the clouds appeared lost, while those that descended beneath them returned home directly. Atmospheric propagation modeling of infrasonic waves virtually transmitted from the loft area shows that these signals would have been ducted beneath the inversion layer, and would not have reached the release sites above it. The absence of homeward infrasonic cues above temperature inversions could explain the disorientation of Wagner’s birds, especially if such signals are the predominant cues used by pigeons to home. The possible generation of infrasonic navigational signals in the loft area and recent queries concerning the infrasound navigational “map” hypothesis are also discussed.
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Acknowledgements
The author is indebted to Gerhart Wagner for his unique contributions to the study of pigeon homing, and for his helpful reviews of the submitted manuscript. Many thanks are also due Mike Jones (CIRES) for providing HARPA and guidance in its use, as well as Larry Baker (USGS) for installing and improving the programs on USGS computers. Thanks also to Gonzague Romanens (MeteoSwiss) for sending the Swiss meteorological data, and to Zenon Valin (USGS) for help with Fig. 1. Al Bedard (CIRES, U Colorado), Bruce Thigpen (Eminent Technologies), and Hugh McIsaac (WSU Pullman) generously participated in helpful discussions, and constructive reviews by Hugh McIsaac (WSU), Lysanna Anderson (USGS), Jelle Assink (KNMI), Joe Kirschvink (Caltech) and an anonymous journal reviewer are greatly appreciated.
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Hagstrum, J.T. A reinterpretation of “Homing pigeons’ flight over and under low stratus” based on atmospheric propagation modeling of infrasonic navigational cues. J Comp Physiol A 205, 67–78 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-018-1304-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-018-1304-y