title: The ontogeny of the homing pigeon navigational map: evidence for a sensitive learning period.
abstract: Homing pigeons can learn a navigational map by relying on the heterogeneous distribution of atmospheric odours in the environment. To test whether there might be a sensitive period for learning an olfactory-based navigational map, we maintained a group of young pigeons in an aviary screened from the winds until the age of three to four months post-fledging. Subsequently, the screens were removed and the pigeons were exposed to the winds and the environmental odours they carry for three months. One control group of pigeons was held in a similar aviary but exposed to the winds immediately upon Hedging, while another control group of pigeons was allowed free-flight. When the pigeons from the three groups were released from two distant release sites at about six months of age post-fledging, the two control groups were found to be equally good at orientating and returning home, while the experimental pigeons held in the shielded aviary for the first three months post-fledging were unable to orientate homeward and they were generally unsuccessful in returning home. This result supports the hypothesis that environmental experience during the first three months post-fledging is critical for some aspect of navigational map learning and that navigational map learning displays sensitive period-like properties.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Etologia, Ecologia ed Evoluzione, Università di Pisa, Italy. annag@discau.unipi.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gagliardo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ioalè
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Odetti
authors.forename: V P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Bingman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D010856:Columbidae / Q000502:physiology*; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D006702:Homing Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007173:Imprinting, Psychological; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology