The Neural Basis of Avian Magnetic Orientation

Homing pigeons have the remarkable skill to find their home when released at distant sites. Great advances in the understanding of how they are able to navigate so reliably have been made in the last century. This monograph provides an overview of this understanding, with a focus on the use of magnetic information in the homing flight of pigeons. Furthermore, a study attempting to find neural correlates of magnetic navigation will be presented. Extracellular recordings were performed in the hippocampus and entopallium of pigeons exposed to a rotating magnetic field. Despite the evidence in favor of magnetic navigation in pigeons, the magnetic stimulation was not represented in the activity of the cells.