Homing Pigeons Get Their Bearings From Their Beaks

[bluecheck]

Maybe some of you have already seen this or the Naturwissenschaften
article, but I hadn't and I thought you might enjoy it.
Frank Mosca
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Homing Pigeons Get Their Bearings From Their Beaks
ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2007) — It has long been recognized that
birds possess the ability to use the Earth's magnetic field for
their navigation, although just how this is done has not yet been
clarified. However, the discovery of iron-containing structures in
the beaks of homing pigeons in a new study1 by Gerta Fleissner and
her colleagues at the University of Frankfurt offers a promising
insight into this complex topic. The article will be published
online mid-March in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften.
________________________________________
In histological and physicochemical examinations in collaboration
with HASYLAB, the synchrotron laboratories based in Hamburg,
Germany, iron-containing subcellular particles of maghemite and
magnetite were found in sensory dendrites² of the skin lining the
upper beak of homing pigeons. This research project found that
these dendrites are arranged in a complex three-dimensional pattern
with different spatial orientation designed to analyze the three
components of the magnetic field vector separately. They react to
the Earth's external magnetic field in a very sensitive and specific
manner, thus acting as a three-axis magnetometer.
The study suggests that the birds sense the magnetic field
independent of their motion and posture and thus can identify their
geographical position.
The researchers further believe that this ability is not unique to
homing pigeons as they expect that the `pigeon-type receptor system
… might turn out to be a universal feature of all birds'. Equally,
this concept might not only exclusively apply to birds, since it has
been shown that many animals display behavior that is modified or
controlled by the Earth's magnetic field.
The meaning of these minute iron oxide crystals goes farther than
their amazing ability to help pigeons home. Research into how they
work has caught the interest of nanotechnologists concerning their
potential application for accurate drug targeting and even as a data
storage device. The main problem, however, lies in their synthetic
production. According to Gerta Fleissner and her colleagues, "Even
though birds have been producing these particles for millions of
years, the main problem for scientists who want to find benefits
from their use will be the technical production of these particles".

1. Fleissner et al (2007). A novel concept of Fe-mineral-based
magnetoreception: histological and physicochemical data from the
upper beak of homing pigeons. Naturwissenschaften (DOI
10.1007/s00114-007-0236-0).

2. A dendrite is a branched extension a nerve cell (neuron)
Found in:
Springer (2007, March 19). Homing Pigeons Get Their Bearings From
Their Beaks. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com* /releases/2007/03/070314134737.htm

[george simon]

HI FRANK,There were studies as early as 2000 in which the beak was found to magnetite. In one study it was found to be stronger in the hens.This study was held in China. Most of the pigeon supply houses sell a product called MAGNETITE I believe that this supplement has been sold for about 8 years. I googled magnetite pigeon and there are many studies that have been done on this subject.The thing that struck me was the study in china that found that this was stronger in the hens. There must be some genetic factor here. GEORGE

[RodSD]

Thanks for the read. I've read that info before. So in short pigeons have built-in gps.

George that was funny that it is stronger in hen. Can that explain why our car's gps system has a woman's voice on it?

[george simon]

Originally Posted by RodSD

Thanks for the read. I've read that info before. So in short pigeons have built-in gps.

George that was funny that it is stronger in hen. Can that explain why our car's gps system has a woman's voice on it?

LOLGEORGE