The homing behaviour of rock pigeons born and reared in captivity was observed in a series of directional and a series of non-directional releases from unfamiliar sites. The performances of rock pigeons have been compared, in simultaneous tests, with those of homing pigeons of similar age, reared and trained together. In the two series the rock pigeons showed a good initial orientation, from both short and longer distances (the longest tested being 93.5 km), not significantly different from that of the homing pigeons. Take-off behaviour was also similar, with a low number of rock pigeons showing a tendency to land after release. The greatest differences were found in homing performances, with the rock pigeons showing longer times and numerous losses compared to the homing pigeons. Losses were very high in the non-directional series compared with the directional, especially for juvenile rock pigeons in their 1st years of flight. The differences in behaviour between rock and homing pigeo...
New experiments on the homing ability of the rock pigeon
FOA', Augusto Giuseppe Lorenzo;
1978
Abstract
The homing behaviour of rock pigeons born and reared in captivity was observed in a series of directional and a series of non-directional releases from unfamiliar sites. The performances of rock pigeons have been compared, in simultaneous tests, with those of homing pigeons of similar age, reared and trained together. In the two series the rock pigeons showed a good initial orientation, from both short and longer distances (the longest tested being 93.5 km), not significantly different from that of the homing pigeons. Take-off behaviour was also similar, with a low number of rock pigeons showing a tendency to land after release. The greatest differences were found in homing performances, with the rock pigeons showing longer times and numerous losses compared to the homing pigeons. Losses were very high in the non-directional series compared with the directional, especially for juvenile rock pigeons in their 1st years of flight. The differences in behaviour between rock and homing pigeo...I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
