Posted on 09/27/2007 4:01:04 PM PDT by blam
Interesting!
“....noted that stars may also either fully or in part provide the birds with their visual bearing—not the magnetic field.”
Most “daylight” birds I’ve aroused at night couldn’t find its way to a higher branch to perch upon without some kind of light. Thinking starlight might contribute to their navigation skill is a stretch exercise of my imaginization.
“The magnetic field or magnetic direction may be perceived as a dark or light spot which lies upon the normal visual field of the bird,”
Your name implies that you’re a pilot? I wonder when WE finally got around to developing a “heads up” display? (I’m sure glad the chicadees haven’t developed a heads up targeting display).
He sure is.
>>Our local Giant Canada Geese have gotten so fat they no longer fly ~ they simply walk.<<
It is probably the trans-fat from BK and McDonald’s fries.
They need a more balanced diet - and no more beer for them.
All joking aside, this is a very interesting article.
BTW, some geese and ducks fly at 29,000 feet.
OK, good. Now explain homing pigeons.
They're just like crocodiles...they just want to go home.
The operative word was "daylight". As with you and me, we cannot see well at night, so for those "daylight birds", jumping from one limb to another might be a problem> We sure can see where we are, and what direction we need to go, by looking at the stars, and as the studies suggest, so can the birds.
Coupled with their internal compass, it makes perfect sense to me.
Seeing the magnetic field? Wow. Very cool. With all the EM radiation we create, it must make an interesting sight for the birds.
As do birds, fish and---with all cone vision---turtles.
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