Are all pigeons homing pigeons?
How do they know how to fly back to home?
Anyone have the scoop on this fowl subject.
I don’t think anyone has really figured out this mechanism yet. This page has the following possibilities listed:
[ul]
[li] Magnetic navigation[/li][li] Astronomical navigation (they use the stars to guide themselves)[/li][li] Smell and/or hearing[/li][li] non-local consciousness/psychic navigation[/li][/ul]
That last one is a bit far-fetched to me but they listed on the site I linked so I just passed it along. Note that the site linked mentions that pigeons seem to use more than one method at a time as experiments that try to block one aspect still sees the pigeon finding its way home.
I guess I should add…
All pigeons have a homing ability although the homing pigeons that seem so remarkable have been specifically bred to enhance that trait (like a Bloodhound has been bred to enhance its sense of smell beyond the already exceptional sense of smell most dogs possess).
As to knowing how to fly back home humans are merely relying on an inbred instinct in the pigeon. Raise it in one place and it becomes ‘imprinted’ to that loaction. Take someplace far away and let it go and it simply wants to be back home and flies there.
They know which way to go the same way swallows know how to carry coconuts during migration 
- P.K.
Ah yes, but is that an african or a european swallow you are referring to?
PS what is it about pigeons today?