Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1904-11-10
VISION OF CARRIER BIRDS,
It Is by This Sense That Homing
Pigeons Are Enabled to Re
turn to Their Cotes.

The remarkable flight OF Mr.. Ham
merles carrier pigeon Champion
which found Its way from st. Louis ia
Syracuse, a distance OF 800 miles, IN
two days, IL hours and is minutes has
awakened In many minds the query
as to how homing pigeon manages to
find his way back home from far-away
strange places. Everybody, says the
Chicago Chronicle, is acquainted WIN
some case of cat or dog or horse re-
turning home from a remote spot UNI
aided and the feat seems to baffie ex-
PLANTATION. A horse on the prairies
when driven along two sides of a tri'
angle and then abandoned. Will. In
stead of vending Its way back over
the course by which 1t came. venture
out In an entirely new direction and
arrive home by pursuing the line Of
the third SIDE Of the triangle
There have been two general theoT
ries to account for these phenomena:
First, the mystical belief In some spe-
cial orientation sense which enaDies
the animal to make dead reckonings'
or which Is susceptible to magnetic
currents, and. secondly, the theoryNthat
the animal is guided by observations
The evidence Is strongly against any
innate sense Of direction. Pigeons
have been experimental upon with
magnetic and electric currents passed
through their heads. but with no ap-
probable effects. ta - .
Various organs, such as the pineal
gland of the brain or the semi-circular
canals of the ears, have been invoked
,as the seat Of some mystical sense ny
which animals fnd their way back
home and by which migratory birds are
guided in their passage from zone 10
zone and in some instances back to the
same nesting place each summer, but
all such imaginary explanations are
entirely without verifcation or plausl-
bllity. 1t has been supposed by some
that as an animal was carried from one
place to another line of Its travel
was traced on its brain and special
points were marked on the brain sur
face where the turning Of a corner had
occasioned more jolting that at other
places. ..
Experiments with pigeons In which
either they were etherized at turning
points or the basket in which they
were carried was suspended by twist
ed string which made 1t possible to ro-
tate the pigeon at turning place SO
that 1t could not feel the new direction
In which the basket was carried, have
demonstrated quite convincingly that
the explanation cannot be found In any
such sensations as may come from Jars
and jolting.
Vision is the thing that tells the car
rior pigeon where to go. When car
rier pigeon sets out on journey II
hfst circles around in the air so as to
get a general idea OF the lay of the
land, and II 1t Is foggy then 1t circles
around more than once before 1t finally
hnds its bearings. A carrier pigeon
can probably see at least $50 miles!
A bird has to be trained to find It'll
way back home. The fancier first
takes 1t only a few miles from home
and then gradually increases the dis
lance, but even then pigeon often
has difficulty in picking Its course. II
bewildered, as by fog or storm, the pig
con flies in spiral search line until
1t finally catches sight of some familiar
object. At night it alights because II
cannot see. If pigeons are carried
away from home in an open basket II
is much easier for them to fly back
than If carried in closed basket.
Very likely pigeon may take note
of the direction of the sun and use thai
as an aid in indicating general direc'
ton. This Is the way Siberians do II
finding their way on the barren Ice
foes. Birds which fly at night can use
the last light in the west as a guidance
and then during the day the contour
of mountain ranges and seacoasts ant
river courses are the guiding lines II
Its map.
When 1t comes to cats and dogs ant
horses, odors and sounds are valuable
aids, and with fishes the outlines o
shores and changes in the color ant
temperature of the water become in
dispensable helps. With man sight II
the chief aid in finding the way, ant
this is also the faculty by which thu
pigeon Champion travelled from st
Louis to Syracuse without getting lost
Lacking in Felicities,
Half the profound truths one hear
are spoken entirely by mistake, Up ii
tha VIRGINIA hills is q small ,hOtpl n