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If you're a regular reader of our columns, you may be familiar with the following response: We're not sure. No one knows exactly how homing pigeons, also called racing pigeons, find their way. However, racing aficionados offer the following general theories:
- Magnetic navigation -- Like a compass, pigeons detect lines in the Earth's magnetic field.
- Astronomical navigation -- Like early explorers, pigeons use the position of the sun and stars to plot their course.
- Smell and or hearing -- Every place has its own unique sounds and smells, and the plucky birds
are able to detect their home turf by using high-powered senses over great distances.
- Non-local consciousness or psychic navigation -- They just know their way home. Period. (Pretty convenient, huh?)
Most people believe that racing pigeons use a combination of the above to make the most of their bird's-eye view of the world. Historically, this incredible gift has been used to relay postal and war messages, reconnaissance cameras and film, financial information, and even interdepartmental documents in India.
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