How mail pigeons find the road?

Pigeon mail thousands of years. It was used yet by Egyptian and Greek navigators long before our era. So they reported home about their arrival. It was used in the First World War, and in the second, mainly in intelligence. And during the battle for Moscow based on the nursery of the Central School of Communication of dog breeding and pigeon breeding, pigeon communication station was specially created.

To transfer letters, a special breed of pigeons, which differ in particular endurance and ability to navigate the terrain. But how do they find where to fly? Figuratively speaking, "sticks the recipient brand". To get a letter, you must first give the pigeon to the sender. These birds have a "Homing" – the innate ability to return to its nest, that is, home.

One of the main landmarks for birds is the sun. Pigeons fly at an angle to the luminaire, making an amendment for a time, in which the internal hours help them. If the sun is hidden behind the clouds, see polarized light. Some scientists suggest that birds can determine the geographical coordinates of the area, but as – not yet clear. Perhaps at the height of the sun over the horizon or the length of the shade, which the objects discarded.

But it is known that even blind pigeons find the road. In this case, it helps a good sense of smell, and they fly on the smell of a familiar place. In addition, the pigeons perceive the infrasound of 0.06 Hz, which corresponds to the sound of a long-range surf, and in modern conditions – the railway, highway, etc. And since low sounds spread over long distances, the sound of passing machines can well serve as an auditory landmark from afar. When the pigeons come to familiar places, oriented already on the inner map. Because the surroundings of the nest they remember in the smallest details.