How Homing Pigeons Find Their Way Home
Homing Pigeon Homing pigeons may derive their impeccable navigation skills from their keen sense of low-frequency hearing. Andreas Trepte via WikimediaA new theory explains why homing pigeons are so good at navigating back to their nests--and why sometimes they are not. Homing pigeons have long blown the minds of us mere mammals with their remarkable ability to find their way home, even across huge and disorienting distances. This ability to navigate to their nests (or lofts, as their habitats are often known) with astounding accuracy has never really been understood, but a new theory may have just solved the mystery. If a U.S. Geological Survey geologist is correct, homing pigeons use low-frequency sound waves that emanate from just about everything to mentally map their environments and navigate back to their lofts. This ability stems from the fact that birds can hear at far lower frequencies than humans can, down to about 0.1...