Migratory Birds and Their Navigation

Short: Migratory birds often travel thousands of kilometers each year between breeding and wintering grounds. For navigation, they use several senses simultaneously, including Earth’s magnetic field.

In more detail: Some species, like the Arctic tern, fly annually from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back.

In detail

• Magnetic sense: Special cells or proteins allow birds to perceive Earth’s magnetic field and orient themselves by it.
• Star navigation: Night-migrating species partly orient themselves by the night sky, especially the North Star.
• Sun compass: Day-migrating birds use the sun’s position as an additional reference point.
• Learned landmarks: Coastlines, rivers, and mountain ranges serve as visual markers that young birds partly learn from other members of their species.
• Energy reserves: Before departure, many species build up fat reserves that serve as fuel for long nonstop flights.
• Dangers during migration: Light pollution, wind turbines, and habitat loss at resting sites increasingly endanger many migratory bird species.
• Climate change: Shifting temperatures move migration timing, which can create a mismatch between arrival and food availability (wale-und-delfine-grundlagen, lichtverschmutzung-und-ihre-folgen).