Pigeons have been shown to use the position of the sun as a compass.A pigeon is trained to feed from the south end of a circular cage and then is placed in a light-controlled room and is phase-advanced by 6 hours.If the bird is returned to the circular cage, where will it search for food at sunrise?
A) North
B) East
C) South
D) West
E) Northwest

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pigeons use the sun as a compass for orientation. When their internal clock is phase-advanced by 6 hours, they will perceive sunrise as happening 6 hours later than it actually does. At actual sunrise, they would expect the sun to be in the position it would be 6 hours later, which is in the east. Therefore, they will search for food in the direction where they perceive the sun to be at that time, which is east.

Pigeons Have Been Shown to Use the Position of the Sun