Migrating birds could put the most state-of-the-art GPS to shame with their arsenal of built-in navigation sensors. These frequent flyers use tools, such as Earth’s magnetic field, the sun’s orientation, visual cues, and weather to navigate migration routes sometimes spanning thousands of miles and multiple continents. Now a new study
TheScience
New research suggests that birds use their hearing in addition to solar orientation, weather, and visual cues to navigate migration routes.
in progress looks at the possibility that waterfalls might offer another clue as to how birds stay on track. Waterfalls send out distinct sound signatures, so CIRES and NOAA/ESRL scientist Alfred J. Bedard is comparing the soundscape of Niagara Falls with the hearing power of pigeons and migration patterns of birds traveling along the Atlantic Flyway. If Bedard’s suspicions prove correct, this would be the first evidence that birds use waterfalls as navigation beacons while on migration.
North American flyways
There are four major geographic routes along which birds migrate
north and south over North America.
