The mystery behind how birds navigate might finally be solved: it's not the iron in their beaks providing a magnetic compass, but a protein in their eyes that lets them "see" Earth's magnetic fields.
These findings come courtesy of two papers - one studying robins, the other zebra finches.
The fancy eye protein is called Cry4, and it's part of a class of proteins called cryptochromes - photoreceptors sensitive to blue light, found in both plants and animals. These proteins play a role in regulating circadian rhythms.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 02 2018, @05:20PM (2 children)
I would be surprised if this applies to "all birds". It may not even apply to all migratory birds. Cool research, but let's not assume that the data applies to all avian creatures.
It's been known for quite a long while that some, or all raptors, see ultraviolet. It helps them to see not the prey they seek, but the urinary waste of that prey.
Heh - I search for a citation, and the first one I read seems to partially dispute my statement. Still, it does help to establish that birds don't all share the same vision: http://jeb.biologists.org/content/216/10/1819 [biologists.org]
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday September 02 2018, @11:09PM (1 child)
You make a very good point.
I can't see this being of any advantage to a Kiwi, which decided flying was way too much effort so long ago that they barely even have wings.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 03 2018, @01:06AM
I can't see magnetic fields but I can fuck your bitch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD469J36mEM [youtube.com]