My neighbour across the street has a flock of racing pigeons. Every other day I see the whole flock – about 30 birds – flying around his house for an hour or so in a circle (roughly 100 m diameter). Sometimes they seem to do an eight, but I’m not sure. What is the purpose of these training sessions, just to gain fitness or to learn orientation, too? Are the eights similar to when we calibrate our smartphones?
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They are sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field. Artificial sources or freak weather can play havoc with their homing ability.
Birds fly. A bird owner may say one thing but for the birds it’s not training as such, it’s their life, it’s what they do. They eat and sleep in coops but the air is their world. Flying is their exercise. They’re also flock animals, so again flying in a group is what they do. Normally in the wild they would fly as a group from tree to tree, foraging for whatever’s in season.
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