Navigational Theory 3: Commuter Birds

This theory suggests that the homing pigeons follow roads, railroads, and freeways to get home. It might sound crazy but it is not entirely false. I have noticed that they do actually follow the freeway sometimes. This can’t be all there is to the mystery of pigeon navigation, because it is apparent that they know which way to go when they are taken hundreds of miles from home and in the middle of nowhere, where there are no roadways at all, or roads they have never seen before. However, from experiments, I believe this theory holds some truth once the birds are in the general vicinity of their home. I've observed that the birds don't need to follow man-made roads, but have some use for them.

My guess is that they might use the roads because there are no buildings, large trees, or other things to navigate around as they fly. It’s a clearer path for them to navigate through. I also think they might use roadways and railroad tracks as landmarks in their journey. We've seen them use roadways many times!