But do they really have the capability to do that? Let’s find out! Homing pigeons are known for their uncanny ability to find their way home – navigating complex and changing landscapes.
But we don’t know exactly how they do this.
This could potentially allow the birds to “see” Earth’s magnetic field, although scientists have yet to confirm this theory.
Scientists are now looking for magnetic particles in a range of species.
The new search is now underway in the inner ear of pigeons, where iron particles known as “cuticulosomes” were first identified in 2013.
But to determine whether iron cuticulosomes can act as magnetoreceptors in pigeons, scientists need to determine their magnetic properties.
To tackle this problem our group at the University of Melbourne, together with colleagues from Vienna’s Institute of Molecular Pathology and the Max Planck Society in Bonn, turned to a new imaging technology to explore the magnetic properties of iron cuticulosomes in the pigeon inner ear.
Our results showed the magnetic properties of the cuticulosomes were not strong enough for them to act as a magnetic particle-based magnetoreceptor.
However, despite the search for the elusive magnetoreceptor coming up short, we are extremely excited by the potential of this magnetic microscope technology.