The pigeon bird is oriented to the sense of smell

There is a set of pigeons that question scientists, the ability to find their way back, even hundreds of kilometers away. This ability has long been known, because Egyptians, Persians, Chinese and Greeks used pigeons to deliver letters during the war or for political and business purposes.

(Photo: HTV)

However, no one has explained how pigeons are oriented. Recent studies suggest that this bird has a special sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic field, allowing them to orient. Some other studies offer a more convincing hypothesis based on the sense of smell.

To test this hypothesis, a member of the University of Pisa (Italy) Anna Gagliardo has partnered with New Zealand researcher Mark Wild of Aukland University, the hypothesis of the hypothesis of a pigeon relation and magnetic field.

The two chose a group of inexperienced pigeons. Half of the birds have had their olfactory nerves removed, thus losing their sense of smell. The remaining half of Dr. Wild's nerve endings are linked to the sensitivity of magnetic fields.

After that, they released these pigeons 50 kilometers north of Pisa and north and then waited patiently for them to return.

The obvious result is all (except 1) pigeons and the olfactory nerve has found its way back within 24 hours. While only 4 of 6 children had olfactory nerve removed, they found their way back more than 1 day after being released. Others have lost their way.

According to the study authors, pigeons have the ability to create an olfactory map of their environment. However, they cannot explain how these pigeons can orient themselves from the smell.