Pigeon wingman rules

Travelling in flocks may make individual birds feel secure but it raises the question of who decides which route the group should take. Mathematical models developed by scientists suggest that a simple set of rules can help flocks, swarms, and herds reach a collective decision about where to go. But investigating how this really works, especially with animal groups in flight, is extremely challenging. A new study led by Oxford University scientists, reported in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface , has used the sort of high-resolution GPS technology normally reserved for extreme sports to look at how homing pigeons make decisions on the wing. I asked lead author Benjamin Pettit of Oxford University's Department of Zoology about the research and what it tells us about the rules of the fly game. OxSciBlog: What are the advantages of flying in a flock? - Benjamin Pettit: For pigeons, the main advantage of flying in a flock is to lower the risk of being eaten. Therefore pigeons in flocks need to coordinate their behaviour to stay together - something they have in common with many other animals.