Scientists have discovered that pigeons may use iron-rich immune cells in their livers as a kind of internal compass.
In experiments, pigeons who lacked those cells became lost in overcast conditions when they couldn't navigate by sight.
The cells display quantum magnetic properties that allow the birds to sense Earth's magnetic field and use it for navigation, according to new research.
AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.
When an American battalion was trapped behind enemy lines in World War I, a pigeon delivered the coordinates that helped save the soldiers when no human messenger could. Later, pigeons carried financial news and stock prices across a 76-mile gap in Europe’s telegraph network. During the Cold War, the CIA strapped tiny cameras to pigeons to snap aerial reconnaissance photographs.
