The Orientation of Birds 145 



may say, step by step, is it not the best proof that we can appeal 

 to to support our theory ? Thanks to the Law of Reverse Scent, we 

 can almost always determine the precise point where to find a lost 

 Pigeon. We succeed in this way in limiting our losses, which would 

 be without it numerous and difficult to repair. 



The return of a Pigeon to a lodging which is displaced is not 

 an exceptional fact. We could cite many examples of the same 

 kind taken from the history of birds. 



We made at sea some experiments which confirm our theory. 

 The absence of guiding points and the suppression of all local 

 memory rendered the releases made at great distances from the 

 coast very interesting. 



On the other hand, observation was easier than on land. It was 

 always possible to note the initial direction taken by the Pigeons 

 leaving the ship. 



We left for New York with a number of Pigeons taken from the 

 colombophiles of Normandy. The 25th of March, the day of sail- 

 ing, we set at liberty ten Pigeons, successively, at distances varying 

 from 100 to 250 kilometers from Havre. 



All the Pigeons acted in the same manner ; none of them raised 

 their wings to fiy high and see afar. They descended almost to the 

 level of the water, turning two or three times about the ship, and 

 took without hesitating the reverse scent of the route we followed. 

 They all reached the Pigeon cote. 



The next day, the 26th of March, our steamer stopped to save 

 the crew of a shipwrecked vessel, the Bothnia. We sent off, through 

 a howling tempest, seven Pigeons carrying dispatches announcing 

 the event. 



Our messengers made useless attempts to take the route from 

 the East, the reverse scent of the ship. Carried away by a violent 

 storm, they fell on some vessels or even took refuge on the coast 

 of Spain. One of them carried his dispatch in the Gulf of Gascogne 

 to the 'Chatterton,' and our message reached its address. 



The 31st of August, on the banks of Newfoundland, we sent out 

 a Pigeon which, after much hesitation, flew toward the East. He 

 reappeared at the end of two hours to rest, and then set out again, 

 outstripping the vessel in its course. He arrived at Noroton, in Con- 

 necticut, one day before our entrance in the harbor of New York. 



This fact shows that the bird, obedient to the sense of distant 

 orientation, has a very precise idea of a direction followed before. 

 After having taken a good initial direction, our bird alters his mind 

 and commits a fault of instinct, but even in this last case he does 

 not wander to the right or the left of the followed route. Thus, 



