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Olfaction and Homing in Pigeons: Ten Years of Experiments

  • Conference paper
Book cover Avian Navigation

Part of the book series: Proceedings in Life Sciences ((LIFE SCIENCES))

Abstract

A critical evaluation of the available evidence allows one to conclude that homing pigeons, when deprived of their sense of smell, are unable to navigate, but are still motivated to home. As shown by a long series of experiments, the map component of the navigational mechanism is acquired by picking up wind-borne olfactory information at the loft. This enables pigeons to use local olfactory cues within a limited range; beyond this range they appear to rely on olfactory cues picked up during the outward journey. The idea that pigeons use multiple cues, none of them essential to navigation, but of different importance over different geographic areas, is not further tenable.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Biologia generale, Università Pisa, Via A. Volta 6, 56100, Pisa, Italy

    F. Papi

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  1. F. Papi
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Biologia Generale, Università di Pisa, Via A. Volta, 6, I-56100, Pisa, Italy

    Floriano Papi

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie, D-8131, Seewiesen, Germany

    Hans G. Wallraff

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© 1982 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Papi, F. (1982). Olfaction and Homing in Pigeons: Ten Years of Experiments. In: Papi, F., Wallraff, H.G. (eds) Avian Navigation. Proceedings in Life Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68616-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68616-0_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-68618-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-68616-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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