Pigeon Orientation: Experiments on the Role of Olfactory Stimuli Perceived During the Outward Journey

Abstract

In a first series of nine experiments homing pigeons were prevented from smelling during passive displacement. The initial orientation of experimentals proved to be significantly different from that of controls and the value of the homeward component always higher in controls than in experimentals. In a second series of three experiments, we obtained significant alterations in the initial orientation by making the pigeons breathe, during passive transportation, air originating from zones different to those traversed.