In the Beginning was Information

south-east and fly right across the Atlantic Ocean to western Europe andNorth Africa. Both kinds of bird have a specific sense of direction whichdetermines their different courses.Detailed results about navigational precision have been found by transportingdifferent kinds of birds to distant locations. A noteworthy experimentwas undertaken with two kinds of marine swallows (Sterna fuscataand Anous stolidus) which breed on the Tortugas islands in the Gulf ofMexico. The birds were taken by ship in different directions and werereleased at distances of between 832 and 1368 km from their nestingplace. Although they found themselves in for them unknown parts of theocean, most of them returned home after a few days, flying unswervinglystraight back to their eggs and their young on the Tortugas islands.Very many experiments have been carried out with homing pigeons, andtheir navigational abilities have been extensively investigated anddescribed. Salomonsen writes as follows about these breathtaking marvelsof navigation [S2]:“Even when pigeons have been transported while anaesthetised, or whentheir cage was rotated so that its orientation changed continuously, theywere able to fly back home just as readily as undisturbed pigeons, whenreleased. It can be asserted without a doubt that these birds possess a specialability for determining their geographic position; they have a realnavigational sense. We know nothing about the actual nature of this sense,neither do we know where the special sense organ is located.”These birds have exceptional faculties: They can return home over greatdistances, even though deprived of any possibility of orientation whentransported. Wherever they are released, they have the amazing ability toextract the required data from the environment to determine their positionrelative to their home. Even after having orientated themselves in thisunknown way, the real problem arises, namely en route navigation. A simplesense of direction is inadequate for this purpose.When crossing oceans, the birds have to take drift, caused by the perennialwinds, into consideration. To avoid wasting energy on detours, suchfactors have to be determined and corrected continuously, as with a cyberneticcontrol system. The Creator provided birds with a very precise“autopilot” which is obviously able to monitor environmental data continuouslyand compare it with the internally programmed home location andthe envisioned geographic destination, to guarantee the quickest and mosteconomical route. As yet nobody but the Creator Who devised it knowsthe locus of this vitally important system, neither do we know how theoperational information is encoded. We use a special term to cover ourignorance, we say the birds have “instinct”.246