How do homing pigeons know the address?

They only know one address: Their home. They can’t pick any old address. So it works by moving the pigeon somewhere else and then letting him fly home. Hence: Homing pigeon.

I have read that there are certain electromagnetic patterns on the earth’s surface that help them to navigate.

Migrating birds have little magnetic mineral deposits in their heads that enable them to read the planet’s magnetic field.
In modern times, it has also been shown that they follow the road network

They also follow a road’s speed limit

Do you mean carrier pigeons as opposed to homing pigeons?

@janbb Same thing. A carrier pigeon is a homing pigeon used to carry messages.

It appears the birds have a lot of combined tactics for finding their way back. I’ve read things as diverse as pigeons having the ability to use polarized light, and even being able to “hear” geographic anomalies like mountain ranges.

I did a Web search and found this article about a theory that pigeons use low frequency sound waves to recognize locations.

@elbanditoroso I have read that there are certain electromagnetic patterns on the earth’s surface that help them to navigate.
Where is that article, I would like to take a gander at it I wonder how they figure it works, the pigeons have GPS of some sort, if so, how does it work and why don’t every animal have it? Why does it seem only them, salmon, elephants and several other have it and some do not have it at all?

@ragingloli Migrating birds have little magnetic mineral deposits in their heads that enable them to read the planet’s magnetic field.
The paper(s) can be found where on the Net? Is there an image from a microscope that shows this, I wonder?

The truth of it, how they do it is how they were designed to do it. The manner and method is irrelevant, because unless it can be reproduced in other animals, there is no way to know if any thought of way would actually work. They do what they do, and man has found a way to make use of it.

@Hypocrisy_Central

http://www.nature.com/news/pigeons-may-hear-magnetic-fields-1.10540

http://news.discovery.com/animals/pigeons-gps-120426.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/science/study-sheds-light-on-how-pigeons-navigate-by-magnetic-field.html

and many others

@elbanditoroso There is a lot of ”I could work”, “it may be”, or “it is possible”, etc. being said. If The scientists identified 53 specific brain stem neurons that exhibited significant responses to changes in their artificial magnetic field. rings true, and they can view it under a microscope, they should be able to piece it together and know what other animals they can stimulate this in, or know if it is the same in turtles and bees as they say, and if not the same, then why is it different in bees and perhaps, it is what bats use to along with their sonar or sound direction. They may not know exactly what gravity is but at least they know how it operates, it pulls everything to it.

@Hypocrisy_Central – I didn’t write the articles, I read them and answered your question. If you have issues with the conclusions that the researchers drew, then please contact the articles’ authors and take it up with them.

But the bigger picture is that science – all science – begins with theories that are either proven or disproven over the fullness of time. Only a scientist with huge hubris would say anything other than “it is possible” until (and unless) there is pretty good proof.

That’s how science works.