Birds who use light, not magnetic fields, to migrate
OCT 30, 2009
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.023803
Wired.com : A cell in the eye may be worth two in the beak, at least when it comes to a migratory bird’s magnetic compass.
In European robins (right image), a visual center in the brain and light-sensing cells in the eye—not magnetic sensing cells in the beak—allow the songbirds to sense which direction is north and migrate correctly, a new study finds. The study published in Nature , may improve conservation efforts for migratory birds. Related Link Visual but not trigeminal mediation of magnetic compass information in a migratory bird
© 2009 American Institute of Physics
