Navigational Theory 2: Map & Compass

The “Map and Compass” Theory
This theory, called Kramer’s Map-and-Compass Model, suggests that pigeons navigate in environments that contain at least two “intersecting gradients,” which are used by the pigeons, to figure out which way home is. By comparing the gradient values at the loft and at the release site, the bird constantly assesses and reassesses the latitude and longitude in relation to where he needs to be to find home.

*Latitude; angular distance of any point on the surface of the earth north or south of the equator. The equator is latitude 0°, and the North Pole and South Pole are latitudes 90°N and 90°S, respectively. The length of one degree of latitude averages about 69 mi (110 km); it increases slightly from the equator to the poles as a result of the earth's polar flattening.

*Longitude; angular distance on the earth's surface measured along any latitude line such as the equator east or west of the prime meridian. A meridian of longitude is an imaginary line on the earth's surface from pole to pole; two opposite meridians form a great circle dividing the earth into two hemispheres.

*Source: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press.