As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Monday 12 February 2018

Migratory birds eye-localized magnetoreception for navigation


February 8, 2018, University of Southern Denmark
Migratory birds use a magnetic compass in their eye for navigation. The involved sensory mechanisms have long remained elusive, but now, researchers have revealed exactly where in the eye avian navigation is situated.

Migratory birds travel long distances when they shift between breeding and wintering grounds. Observations of migrating birds were first recorded by ancient Greeks more than 3,000 years ago, and it has long been a mystery how they find their way when embarking on thousands of kilometers long journeys.

In 2000, researchers suggested that a protein in birds' eyes helps them take information from light and process it to a travel course—an inner magnetic compass. Since then, the basic sensory mechanisms underlying this magnetoreception have remained elusive. In order to solve the riddle, a research group at University of Southern Denmark collaborated with colleagues from the University in Oldenburg, Germany.

The team conducted a series of studies and simulations that reveal the detailed position and nature of the inner compass. They studied the navigational sensory mode of European robins (Erithacus rubecula) via computer microscopy of birds' eyes. "We believe that we have strong evidence to pinpoint the right magnetoreceptor molecule in migratory birds," said Ilia Solov'yov, associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark.


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