Research in the UK reveals that pigeons navigate using roads and railways. According to the researchers, they use roads more than their natural means of navigation * The study was conducted for ten years and used GPS
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A study by zoologists from the University of Oxford reveals that pigeons navigate their way around Britain using roads and railways. According to them, birds' natural magnetic and solar compasses are generally used less than humans' means of transportation.
In the ten-year study, many pigeons were observed making a turn at a highway intersection and using prominent points in the terrain to indicate their location. The authors of the study themselves were amazed by its results. The researchers mapped the ion trajectories with an accuracy of about three meters using tiny tracking devices and GPS technology, which locates a location using signals sent from satellites.
Advertisement A member of the research team, Dr. Tim Gilford, says that the findings are unequivocal. "They don't follow linear lines all the time. Sometimes, when they fly at a height of 70 to 100 meters in a built-up area it is difficult to clearly see what they are following. But when they fly over a road along it, it's quite clear. We saw those flying over the Oxford crossing and turning at specific intersections, like humans."
Dr. Gilford believes that the pigeons use the sun for navigation when they are over unfamiliar territory. According to him, sometimes when the route of the road allows it, they fly in a straight line and ignore the roads to shorten their journey. The researchers believe that the birds use the navigation technique with the help of roads and railways to make their flight path as simple as possible.
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