Homing pigeons vs cellphone towers

From the BBC:

A growing number of homing pigeons are getting lost due to interference from the new "unseen enemy" of mobile phone masts, racing experts claim.

The birds' natural instincts are being confused by radiation signals from an increasing number of transmitters, the Royal Pigeon Racing Association said. . .

Pigeons are thought to find their way home using landmarks and the earth's magnetic field. . .

Previous research by German scientists in 1999 suggested that short wave radiation had an "undefined negative" impact on homing pigeons. It was found that exposed birds took longer to get home, flew at lower levels and were reluctant to go near transmitters.

I wonder how those German tests were done. Were the birds put in a microwave?

Posted by David on January 24, 2004 12:41 PM