Homing Pigeons Can’t Find Their Way Home
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ESSEN, West Germany — Hundreds of West German homing pigeons are flying aimlessly around, and pigeon fanciers here suspect gigantic gas eruptions on the surface of the sun may be to blame.
The West Germany Homing Pigeon Federation in this city said that 40% of 4,000 birds that were released last weekend in Denmark have failed to make it home to their various lofts in West Germany.
The mystery could be explained by solar flares reported to have erupted Sunday and Monday, bombarding the Earth with unusual radiation. The pigeon fanciers fear the rays may have disturbed the Earth’s magnetics field, which pigeons use to find their way.
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