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Pigeons may be navigating with their liver, study suggests

Nbcwashington · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 514 words · By Adithi Ramakrishnan; The Associated Press
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What to know about Pigeons may be navigating with their liver, study suggests

A surprising gut feeling may help pigeons find their way home.

Claims checked 14
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A surprising gut feeling may help pigeons find their way home.

Why it matters

Animals use various techniques to navigate including following the stars and remembering key landmarks.

Common ground

Birds, fish and turtles orient themselves using Earth's magnetic field as a compass.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/pigeons-navigate-liver…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 4
verified Verified By Reference 2
verified Verified 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “Pigeons are a well-known group of frequent flyers that can traverse hundreds of miles (hundreds of kilometers) in a single day.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm that homing pigeons can fly hundreds of miles (e.g., 600-700 miles) in a single day.
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 21, 2024 · Pigeons can fly between 600 and 700 miles in a single day.. This ... Homing Pigeons have been known to fly 700 miles/ 1120 km in a day.Average racing pigeon flight time for 150km distan…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/425755834904650/posts/168380…
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web search NEUTRAL — Dec 31, 2016 · Pigeons can fly and cover a distance between 600 and 700 miles in a single day. They cover this distance by flying at an average speed of 77.6 ...
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-distance-that-pigeon-can-f…
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web search NEUTRAL — Homing pigeons' average flying speed over moderate 965 km (600 miles) distances is around 97 km/h (60 miles per hour) and speeds of up to 160 km/h (100 miles ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homing_pigeon
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Claim 2: “Specialized immune cells in the pigeon's liver break down red blood cells and store iron.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources describe the role of macrophages (immune cells) in the pigeon's liver breaking down red blood cells and storing iron for navigation.
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web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 · Researchers found that these cells, called macrophages, accumulate iron while breaking down old red blood cells. The iron gives the cells ...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260529043640.h…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 · White blood cells in the birds' livers accumulate iron and act as an internal compass when clouds block the sun that normally helps them ...
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pigeon-navigation-iron-l…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 · Specialized immune cells in the pigeon's liver break down red blood cells and store iron. When scientists temporarily stripped pigeons of those ...
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/how-pigeons-use-iron-rich-li…
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Claim 3: “veterinary pathologist Simon Spiro and biologist Hal Drakesmith [wrote] in an accompanying editorial.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “such immune cells have also been spotted in other areas including the beak and spleen.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 5: “They searched for magnetic clues in the birds' organs and found a strong signal in an unexpected place: the liver.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources report on a study finding magnetic signals in the livers of pigeons, specifically mentioning the liver as an unexpected location.
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web search NEUTRAL — Per Science.org, the study surveyed the organs of homing pigeons, including the suspected eyes, beak and ear, but found a particularly strong magnetic signal in the bird’s liver. Article continues aft…
https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/study-reveals-pigeons-…
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web search NEUTRAL — A research team in Germany has published new data on how pigeons use magnetic fields as a navigation method when visibility is limited. A key part of the long-sought answer could lie in an unexpected …
https://www.dw.com/en/pigeons-livers-may-enable-magnetic-nav…
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web search NEUTRAL — Pigeons possess iron-rich macrophages in their livers that act as magnetic sensors, enabling detection of Earth's magnetic field for navigation. Removal of these cells disrupts magnetic-based homing, …
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-pigeons-magnetic-sensors-liver…
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Claim 6: “Clivia Lisowski [is] with the University of Bonn.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 7: “Albert Kao [is] with the University of Massachusetts Boston”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided Wikipedia results are general lists of Nobel laureates and NAE members and do not mention Albert Kao's specific affiliation with the University of Massachusetts Boston.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following list shows the university affiliations of individual winners of the Nobel Prize since 1901 and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences since 1969. The affiliations are those at the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_by_uni…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This list is a subsection of the List of members of the National Academy of Engineering, which includes members and international members of the United States National Academy of Engineering, living a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_Nationa…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early sta…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Early_Career_Awar…
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Claim 8: “For thousands of years, humans have used them to carry news, notes and military messages.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and multiple historical/communication sources confirm the use of pigeons for messaging dating back thousands of years (e.g., ancient Egypt).
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web search NEUTRAL — Because of this skill, homing pigeons were used to carry messages, a practice referred to as "pigeon post". Until the introduction of telephones, they were used ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homing_pigeon
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 16, 2024 ... Humans have used homing pigeons for thousands of years. The earliest known use of pigeons for messaging dates back to ancient Egypt, around 1350 BCE.
https://www.ooma.com/blog/communications-history-homing-pige…
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 26, 2026 ... Thousands of years ago, pigeons were used as a means of communication. Pigeons would carry messages on tiny pieces of rolled up paper in a metal ...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/395051826831248/posts/890979…
verified
Claim 9: “Birds, fish and turtles orient themselves using Earth's magnetic field as a compass.”
VERIFIED
Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and the U.S. Geological Survey, discuss the use of Earth's magnetic field for animal orientation, specifically mentioning birds.
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web search NEUTRAL — Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged partic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_magnetic_field
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web search NEUTRAL — Why measure the magnetic field at the Earth's surface? Wouldn't satellites be better suited for space-weather studies? Satellites and ground-based magnetometers are both important for making measureme…
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/do-animals-use-magnetic-field-orie…
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web search NEUTRAL — Earth’s magnetic field always points up in the southern hemisphere. Read more: Birds can ‘see’ the Earth’s magnetic field. “One interesting way to test this hypothesis would be to reproduce our experi…
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2196865-our-brains-migh…
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Claim 10: “The birds' magnetic compasses only got scrambled on overcast days. That's because they also use the sun as a navigational guide.”
CORROBORATED
Sources indicate that pigeons use a combination of magnetic and solar cues, and that the loss of liver-based magnetic sensing is most apparent when the sun is obscured.
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web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 · For example, songbirds migrating at night or under overcast skies can maintain a magnetically calibrated flight direction, set at sunset, over ...
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady2486
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web search NEUTRAL — Walcott, C., The navigation of homing pigeons: do they use sun navigation?, in: Animal. Orientation and Navigation, pp. 283-292. Eds S. R. Galler, K. Schmidt ...
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-0348-720…
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web search NEUTRAL — These data support the hypothesis that the pigeons can only use the sun compass during the particular portions of the day when they have previously observed the ...
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2827325
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Claim 11: “Martin Wikelski [is] with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Official Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior pages explicitly state Martin Wikelski is the Director of the Department of Migration.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The ICARUS Initiative (International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space) is an international effort to track the migratory patterns of small flying animals using radio transmitters. The proje…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICARUS_Initiative
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie, abbreviated MPIO) was a non-university research institution under the sponsorship of the Max Planck Society. As …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck_Institute_for_Ornit…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (German: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and nonprofit association…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck_Society
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 12: “When scientists temporarily stripped pigeons of those immune cells and let them fly, the birds “just couldn't find their way,” said Christian Kurts with the University of Bonn in Germany.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources report that stripping these immune cells caused pigeons to lose their way, particularly on overcast days.
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web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... But on days of heavy cloud, when visual cues are not available, they lose their way without these cells. Liver macrophages are a new mechanism ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY6-N20Iftd/
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... They discovered that iron-rich immune cells, known as macrophages, in the birds' livers can demonstrate a type of magnetism known as “ ...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-do-pigeons-fin…
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago ... According to new research, the secret to how pigeons are able to navigate so accurately may not have anything to do with their brains or eyes.
https://www.facebook.com/VICE/posts/according-to-new-researc…
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Claim 13: “the new study published Thursday in the journal Science is the first to present a full-fledged theory [on whether immune cells could be involved in magnetic sensing].”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results specifically confirming a study published on a 'Thursday' in the journal Science regarding this theory, although the general findings are corroborated.
schedule
Claim 14: “The immune cells are located near nerve fibers in the liver.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.