How Do Homing Pigeons Find Their Way Home

You can blindfold a pigeon and put it in a dark box, then put that box in a truck,

and no matter if you leave it thousands of kilometers away,

still that pigeon easily finds its way home.

But due to which technique does a pigeon find its way?

So, let's learn the secret of the pigeon that makes it special compared

to common birds. The first technique. Pigeons have a homing instinct.

That is, pigeons can feel the Earth's magnetic field.

They have special cells in their

beaks and heads that recognize the magnetic field and help in determining the path.

This works just like a compass,

always indicating the right direction.

The second technique.

A type of special magnetic particles, that is magnetite,

are found in pigeons' darsers.

These particles are located in their brain's pineal gland and nucleus.

These particles are sensitive to the Earth's magnetic field,

which helps pigeons to identify their surrounding environment and direction.

Meaning, there is a natural magnet in a pigeon's brain that

always keeps indicating the north-south direction. The third technique.

Pigeons' hippocampus is also extremely powerful.

The hippocampus is the part of the

brain that stores spatial memory and positional information.

With this, pigeons remember various locations

during their journey and create a mental map to return to their home.