WT Forums

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>LONDON, England (Reuters) -- The secret of carrier pigeons' uncanny ability to find their way home has been discovered by British scientists: The feathered navigators follow the roads just like we do.

Researchers at Oxford University spent 10 years studying homing pigeons using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and were stunned to find the birds often don't navigate by taking bearing from the sun.

Instead they fly along motorways, turn at junctions and even go around roundabouts, adding miles to their journeys, British newspapers reported.

"It really has knocked our research team sideways," Professor Tim Guilford said in the Daily Telegraph.

"It is striking to see the pigeons fly straight down the A34 Oxford bypass, and then sharply curve off at the traffic lights before curving off again at the roundabout," he said.

Guilford said pigeons use their own navigational system when doing long-distance trips or when a bird does a journey for the first time.

But when they have flown a journey more than once they home in on an habitual route home.

"In short it looks like it is mentally easier for a bird to fly down a road...they are just making their journey as simple as possible."
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Cant say i havnt gone VFr i mean Rand Mcnally a few times either,
<img src=newicons/anim_lol.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=newicons/anim_lol.gif border=0 align=middle>

"The power to Destroy the planet, is insignifigant to the power of the Air Force----Mudd Vader

are these male or female homing pigeons? <img src=newicons/anim_bannana.gif border=0 align=middle>

"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us". George Orwell

Fighting For Justice With Brains Of Steel !
<img src="http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/atengun2X.GIF" border=0>

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Male- they never ask directions!<img src=newicons/anim_lol.gif border=0 align=middle> And what roads were they following at the turn of the century? Not to mention WWI. If they were following the trenches, it's a wonder any of them got back home!

Hajji, you can run, but why die tired?

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson