Avian Navigation - Hans G. Wallraff

. .

Résumé :
How migratory birds can navigate home from their wintering grounds to their breeding sites over hundreds and thousands of kilometres has been an admired mystery over more than a century. Profound advances towards a solution of this problem have been achieved with a model bird, the homing pigeon. This monograph summarizes our current knowledge about pigeon homing, about the birds' application of a sun compass and a magnetic compass, of a visual topographical map within a familiar area and -- most surprisingly -- of an olfactory map using atmospheric chemosignals as indicators of position in distant unfamiliar areas.

Biographie:
Dr. Hans G. Wallraff was scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology who investigated navigation and orientation of birds over almost 50 years.

Sommaire:
Observation Data Used to Investigate Pigeon Homing.- Basic Features of Pigeon Homing.- Potential Input Signals Exploitable for Home-Finding.- The Role of the Sun.- The Role of the Geomagnetic Field.- The Role of the Chemical Atmosphere.- The Role of the Visual Landscape.- The Neural Bases of Pigeon Homing.- Homing in Other Birds.- Research History: Blind Alleys and an Unexpected Passage.- Overall Synthesis and Perspective.