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Science 12 April 1974:
Vol. 184. no. 4133, pp. 180 - 182
DOI: 10.1126/science.184.4133.180
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Articles

Orientation of Homing Pigeons Altered by a Change in the Direction of an Applied Magnetic Field

Charles Walcott 1 and Robert P. Green 1

1 Department of Cellular and Comparative Biology, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11790

Homing pigeons were equipped with a pair of small coils around their heads. Birds with an induced field of 0.6 gauss and the south magnetic pole up, oriented toward home normally under both sun and overcast. Birds with the polarity reversed oriented toward home when the sun was visible but often flew away from home under overcast.


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