1. As a test of the importance of olfaction to the navigational system of homing pigeons, a method of olfactory deprivation, the insertion of plastic tubes through the nostrils, has been employed. Birds wearing the tubes, and untreated controls, were singly released from two sites: a familiar one west of the loft, from which the birds had been released without tubes eight times previously, and an unfamiliar site south of the loft. 2. From the unfamiliar site anosmatic birds showed drastically impaired homing ability, both in terms of vanishing bearings and homing success (only 6 of 33 homing on the day of release vs. 33 of 36 controls). From the familiar site, tube-equipped birds showed homing performance which was only marginally poorer than that of controls. 3. The latter experiment shows that the effect of olfactory deprivation on homing is not a general behavioral influence on, for example, homing motivation, but is a consequence of the central importance of olfactory cues in determining home direction from unfamiliar territory. Anosmatic birds do home from familiar sites, presumably using an auxiliary pilotage mechanism relying on visual landmarks or other local cues.
The effect of olfactory deprivation by nasal tubes upon homing behavior in pigeons.
FOA', Augusto Giuseppe Lorenzo;
1977
Abstract
1. As a test of the importance of olfaction to the navigational system of homing pigeons, a method of olfactory deprivation, the insertion of plastic tubes through the nostrils, has been employed. Birds wearing the tubes, and untreated controls, were singly released from two sites: a familiar one west of the loft, from which the birds had been released without tubes eight times previously, and an unfamiliar site south of the loft. 2. From the unfamiliar site anosmatic birds showed drastically impaired homing ability, both in terms of vanishing bearings and homing success (only 6 of 33 homing on the day of release vs. 33 of 36 controls). From the familiar site, tube-equipped birds showed homing performance which was only marginally poorer than that of controls. 3. The latter experiment shows that the effect of olfactory deprivation on homing is not a general behavioral influence on, for example, homing motivation, but is a consequence of the central importance of olfactory cues in determining home direction from unfamiliar territory. Anosmatic birds do home from familiar sites, presumably using an auxiliary pilotage mechanism relying on visual landmarks or other local cues.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
