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limacharley t1_irq04yh wrote

Some animals sense magnetic fields. Others follow the stars. Of course, it is pretty easy to tell what direction you are headed just by noting where the sun is. In the morning your shadow points west. In the evening your shadow points east. At noon your shadow points north (in the northern hemisphere)

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PuzzleMeDo t1_irq93xo wrote

Note that without the magnetoreception, this leads to fairly haphazard navigation. Can't follow the stars on a cloudy night. Still, if you're just trying to head somewhere warm rather than a specific area, it's good enough.

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araujoms t1_irqjqtc wrote

> Others follow the stars.

I'm skeptical. Do you have a source for that? (For a star other than the Sun, I mean.)

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Saoirsenobas t1_irqrh59 wrote

In the fall the Indigo Bunting becomes restless and wants to constantly move towards their southern migration. Studies were conducted in an observatory with a simulated night sky. With a normal sky the birds almost always trended in the correct direction (south) even if their magnetic sense was interupted. scientists then had the observatory simulate the night sky rotated 180 degrees and noted that the birds now wanted to go north.

Edit: apparently I am bad at making links can anyone help?

Migratory Orientation in the Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea. Part II: Mechanism of Celestial Orientation

Stephen T. Emlen

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iayork t1_irr5x2k wrote

Square brackets around the text (e.g. title) followed by regular brackets around the link.

[Migratory Orientation in the Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea. Part II: Mechanism of Celestial Orientation](https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/84/4/463/5198008)

> I propose that Indigo Buntings are able to determine their migratory direction in a similar manner, by responding to the Gestalt stimuli provided by the patterning of stars

—Migratory Orientation in the Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea. Part II: Mechanism of Celestial Orientation

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swankpoppy t1_irrej1z wrote

Wow that’s incredible. I always thought migration was dominated by earth’s magnetic field.

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limacharley t1_irr43v8 wrote

It has been well documented that migratory birds will get confused and circle certain sources of light pollution at night. Some will circle the same building/light source until they die of exhaustion

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YungPlugg OP t1_irq1zu2 wrote

Yeah the magnetoreception is very impressive, and to think that birds have an understanding of celestial navigation is extremely fascinating

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BurnOutBrighter6 t1_irpz4ht wrote

Birds have the ability to sense the Earth's magnetic field, giving them a sense called "magnetoreception" that acts like an internal compass. The actual physical mechanism allowing this magnetic perception to function is currently poorly understood, unless this textbook chapter from 2015 is out of date (in which case someone with more relevant knowledge in the field please update us!).

Chapter 8 - Magnetoreception in Birds and Its Use for Long-Distance Migration

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