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.

Friday 13 October 2017

Computational study sheds doubt on latest theory of birds' mysterious magnetic compass

Date:  October 3, 2017
Source:  Cell Press

Summary:
The European robin and other birds know where to migrate by sensing the direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Researchers have recently attributed this ability to a chemical reaction that takes place within the eye and whose success depends on the field direction. However, researchers now report that the current form of this 'radical-pair mechanism' is not sensitive enough to explain the disruption of the avian magnetic compass by certain radiofrequency magnetic fields.



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