EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -New research says it’s their ability to sense Earth’s magnetic field that acts as a compass directing them in the long journey. Birds likely use magnetically sensitive proteins called cryptochromes located in their retinas that enable sensing and signalling functions, helping them in navigating these long distances.

Detailed explanation-2: -Researchers have also found some specialized cells in birds’ eyes that may help them see magnetic fields. It is thought that birds can use both the beak magnetite and the eye sensors to travel long distances over areas that do not have many landmarks, such as the ocean.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1978, in an attempt to make sense of these features of avian magnetoreception, Klaus Schulten, then at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany, put forth a remarkable idea: that the compass relies on magnetically sensitive chemical transformations.

Detailed explanation-4: -To find north, humans look to a compass. But birds may just need to open their eyes, a new study says. To find north, humans look to a compass.

Detailed explanation-5: -Thanks to a combination of sensing the Earth’s magnetic field through vision and an in-built compass that allows them to orient themselves according to magnetic intensity, migratory birds don’t have much trouble finding their way.