How do Birds Navigate? - Sun, Stars, and Magnetic Senses

[@eerielconstantine5051]

So most likely the reason why birds travel so well might be a combination of many methods and senses

[@BioBush]

Yes, Eeirel! They have lots of innate senses which support each other in identifying which way to go. Plus they can just follow other birds. 🙂

[@arijit1204]

@@BioBush okay..

[@JohnsonCollinsGames]

@@BioBush im probably the only one thet didnt understand a thing

[@markc2152]

I’d be pissed if I got abducted and dropped of in New Jersey

[@BioBush]

I like this so much. You're right! We never asked the birds how they feel. Hopefully they all lived happy lives and/or had an interesting story to tell. Thanks for watching, Mark!

[@pyro-millie5533]

Holy crap so in addition to their instinctual tools and senses, they LEARN to track the sun, stars, and landmarks just like human explorers!?!?! Gosh I fall more in love with these little creatures every day.

[@BioBush]

Hi again, Pyro-Millie! Yes, they gain mental tools during repeated migration, so I bet the older birds help the flock stay on course while the younger ones learn their tricks. And we, on the sidelines, have a chance to discover just how ingenious the birds around us can be!

[@gpsloft5868]

I’ve been studying my racing pigeons for about 4 years now. I’ve had birds come home from 350 miles. 😊

[@aheathcliff7227]

I successfully navigated to subscribe button because of the cool compass sensor built-in me

[@BioBush]

Thank you A Heathcliff! I'm glad you found some value in this video and want to find some more. Thank you for watching!

[@acishetwhiteman9117]

wow birds are smart

[@BioBush]

They are! Having extra senses is one thing, but using them in such clever ways is so amazing. Thanks for taking the time to learn about birds!

[@analisat4075]

Thank you so much! This video really helped me on my bird project in school.

[@BioBush]

You're welcome! It's tricky because they use senses that we don't even have. But I'm glad this helped. Thanks for watching!

[@saigonmonopoly1105]

ok let say bird navigate by using magnetic compass to fly north how then can they get to florida if i set them off in LA ..with out a map and position marked can they get to florida by flying north from LA

[@BioBush]

Good question! We can't ask a bird to know exactly how it works, but they might use their sense of north to figure out the other directions. They would have to use several methods to navigate east-west; I'm actually really curious myself now. Thanks for watching!

[@SurapholKruasuwan]

ธรรมชาติ เป็นทั้ง นักออกแบบ สร้างสรร อัศจรรย์ . นกอพยพ ใช้ มุมของตะวัน ดารา และ เส้นแรงแม่เล็กโลก ในการเดินทาง เป็นจีพีเอส ของธรรมชาติ . ขอบคุณ ข้อมูลดีๆ

[@BioBush]

I really appreciate your comments, Suraphol! It's a privilege to make these videos for motivated learners like yourself. Thank you for watching!

[@syedshajan]

Read Qur'an 16:79

[@BioBush]

Thanks for sharing, Hit! There are so many things to appreciate about birds. Thanks for watching!

[@sergethecarhauler795]

Birds Aren’t Real

[@BioBush]

Hi Serge! I did make a video on that topic: BioBush.tv/birdsarereal Thanks for watching!

[@_ABHITIWARI]

Nice research ✅ and thankyou for a good quality explanation.

[@BioBush]

Thanks for the kind words, Abhi! There are so many interesting things to learn about birds. Thanks for watching!

[@topforeign205]

Quran 16:79

[@hemendrasingh4252]

I wanna give u some more information

[@BioBush]

Hi Hemendra! My email is on my profile, or feel free to leave it in a comment here. Have a great day!

[@saigonmonopoly1105]

they would all fly over canada to the north pole only having a northern direction

[@manianvsm]

Birds may not use a single method. They take the help of coastal lines, learning from seniors, path of sun & moon, wind & temperature, magnetic alignment detected by magnetic enzymes secreted in their glands etc. Good that this video consolidates some of the experimental findings (there might be errors in each experiment that is generally hidden).

[@BioBush]

Hi Venkatachalam! It's amazing how much we can learn about birds when we look closely. There is so much out there to learn! Thank you for watching!

[@emmeeeye1849]

Hi, I am very happy to see your video And I come to know that birds have senses to change the direction. Its all creatures of almighty Allah.

[@BioBush]

I'm glad you learned something interesting, Emm! Thanks for watching!

[@КостяЛопунов]

Fool said in his heart: there is no God (Creator)

[@saigonmonopoly1105]

they navigate using the energy field

[@londondiariesmallu]

amazing

[@BioBush]

Glad you liked it. There are so many interesting things to learn about birds!

[@chelleshell7033]

I researched this out of interest and these are all very feesable explanations but I doubt they use stars for navigation

[@BioBush]

Thank you for thinking about and evaluating what you have learned, Chelle! That's a great habit. The planetarium experiment at 3:36 gives some experimental evidence that birds can override their magnetic sense of north if the stars are realigned. But we can also expect that birds are much more complicated than any one experiment can demonstrate. Thanks for watching!

[@michaelbootzin6959]

@@BioBush do you have a link to the Planetarium study?

[@BioBush]

@@michaelbootzin6959 Sure. There were a series of experiments by Stephen Emlen in the 1960's, but one that demonstrates this effect is "Emlen, S. T. 1967. Migratory orientation in the Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea. Part I: evidence for use of celestial cues. Auk 84: 309-342." (www.jstor.org/stable/4083330) For this experiment he switched the skies 180 degrees, not 90 like I say in the video. There may have been a different experiment where he did 90 degrees. Hope that helps!

[@ph11p3540]

Sadly birds can't sense when a high speed aircraft is nearby or if they are flying into a space where high speed aircraft are coming and going. We still have not figured out how to make birds take a detour out of airport space. Every year, there are thousands of bird strike incidence with a a couple a dozen forcing emergency landings or crashes. Can aviation and avians coexist, we still have lots of work to do.

[@BioBush]

Hi Phillip! That is such an interesting idea. Airplanes already operate under so many constraints that it's not obvious how to add the constraint of bird safety. But coexisting with wildlife is a noble goal. I don't know how to do it, but it's worth discussion. It's in the pool for future video ideas. Thanks for sharing your insight!

[@ph11p3540]

@@BioBush Actually, a few new airports were located based on input from bird naturalists. The same goes with Cape Kennedy and the emerging Boca Chica Starports. Often the best places to locate an airport are near bird estuaries due to the abundance of cheap, very flat land. In the case of the Edmonton International Airport wanting to put in a third runway , besides prevailing winds, there had to be an estuary relocation campaign that is projected to take over 10 years. Edmonton International has gotten lots of advice from Ducks Unlimited in how to locate the new estuaries without the migratory birds straying off their ancestral migration corridors. The new estuaries cost the Alberta and International Airport nearly 40 million dollars. Unprecedented money spent on a single animal habitat.

[@haeyba]

This is so intriguing! Thank you for such a concise video.

[@BioBush]

Hi Haeyba! I'm glad you found this helpful. There are so many interesting things to learn about birds. Thanks for watching!

[@haeyba]

@@BioBush My pleasure! Looking forward for your next videos!

[@aheathcliff7227]

Cool video

[@Theironbodysensei]

Sound buddy.

[@maryellenelizabethhart7370]

Thank you for the clear explanation.

[@BioBush]

You're welcome, Maryellen! There are so many interesting things to learn about birds. Thanks for watching!

[@baefarenheitz2066]

Birds, bees, dogs, yep.

[@BioBush]

Wait, do dogs use one or more of these navigation strategies? Smell, of course, but do they use any others that you know of? I would like to learn.

[@sharonweideger2411]

Gods creation ❣👍

[@BioBush]

It's amazing how we are surrounded by all these living things and their incredible abilities. The world is full of things for us to see and appreciate. Thank you for watching, Sharon!

[@KoawNature]

A great summary of many of the various methods used in bird navigation! You've done well articulating these complex topics in an understandable way for non-scientists. Good stuff.

[@BioBush]

Thank you Koaw! I hope it gives people a mental model of what's possible for birds. People can look up more detailed information later if they want, but they might not know what to look for without an introduction. I'm glad you found it valuable. Take care!

[@smxnke]

GOVERNMENT DRONES!!!

[@BirdWatchwithANUKUSUMAKARKADRI]

It's all amazing to learn about the navigation of these birds, and lots many things, to learn through your channel. You are a excellent narrator dear friend 😍 I love 💗your channel 👍

[@BioBush]

Aw, thanks. :) I am learning too! And there are SO many more bird secrets to explore. When I made this channel I planned to do 50 videos on birds and then start talking about other animals. But we're at almost 40 right now, and there is easily enough to do another 40. I hope you're ready to learn a lot more! :)

[@kamenriderinfinity]

Hi! Could I possible get the source for the experiment described in your video(around 1:27).

[@BioBush]

Yes! It's "Evidence for a navigational map stretching across the continental U.S. in a migratory songbird" by Thorup et. al. from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(46):18115-9 · December 2007 Here's a link: biobush.tv/sparrownavigation Thanks for watching, Elbert!

[@jakeshumway9487]

That's super cool

[@BioBush]

Thank you, Jake! There are so many interesting things to learn about birds!

[@michaellawson6533]

I wish I had those skills .

[@BioBush]

Right?! Me too! You would never get lost, no GPS required. I think there are actual tools to navigate using stars, but just having them built in would be much easier.