Do Pigeons Navigate with Their Livers?

Pigeons are renowned for their navigational abilities. A well-trained homing pigeon can successfully navigate hundreds of miles, even if it was released somewhere it’s never been before (this is why they were used during both World Wars to deliver messages). But how do they do it? Scientists believe it has something to do with the position of the sun and the earth’s magnetic field, but the details have remained elusive.

A new study looking for magnetic signals in pigeons found a “strong signal” in the birds’ livers:

Specialized immune cells in the pigeon’s liver break down red blood cells and store iron. When scientists temporarily stripped pigeons of those immune cells and let them fly, the birds “just couldn’t find their way.” . . . That suggested the iron-rich liver cells might play a role in their sense of direction.

The birds’ magnetic compasses only got scrambled on overcast days. That’s because they also use the sun as a navigational guide. . . .

The immune cells are located near nerve fibers in the liver. That might be how they transmit their “magnetic sense” to the brain “and help the pigeons to navigate.”

The scientists think this could be true of other species and that “the birds could use different techniques to sense magnetic fields depending on the task, be it traveling long distances or finding a specific destination.” In other words, solving the puzzle of animal navigation continues to be very complicated! I doubt man will ever work out how it all happens.

Really, it’s just another example of the complexity of God’s creation.

Really, it’s just another example of the complexity of God’s creation. Pigeons may seem like commonplace birds, but they have extraordinary abilities we can’t fully understand even after decades and decades of dedicated research.

Yet with all this complexity, the majority of scientists still continue to give the random, chance process of evolution the credit for designing it all. Even something like pigeon livers should cause these scientists to be in awe of God’s creativity and praise him for what he’s made.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

Yes, it’s obvious from creation that God is the Creator of it all!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken