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To: SkyPilot
If Humans can “See” the temp change in bodies of water I have no doubt that birds can see a magnetic field.
3 posted on 09/27/2007 4:21:01 PM PDT by Beagle8U (FreeRepublic -- One stop shopping ....... Its the Conservative Super WalMart for news .)
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To: Beagle8U
In SciAm there was an article which pointed out that certain birds accomplish long distance migrations by following the Earth's magnetic field lines. The birds have minute particles of magnitite in their brain cells and voila their internal compasses do the job.

In another article an Atlantic tern which migrates from Nova Scotia to the North shore of South America were tested in a different manner. They were encased in a sphere which was painted black. Inorder to test the thesis, the scientists changed the day night cycle to get the bird on a standard time. When migration is about to begin the bird's genetalia shrink. Thus there is less body weight for the long migration. The sphere that housed the birds had minute holes which were made so that the Northern Hemisphere Celestial Sphere was portrayed. The inside of the shpere was covered with carbon paper and as the migration began the birds would try to launch themselves southward. From the bird tracks in the sphere the scientists concluded that these birds also performed a rudimentary form of celestial navigation.

Ain't it amazin'?

7 posted on 09/27/2007 4:38:37 PM PDT by Young Werther (Julius Caesar (Quae Cum Ita Sunt. Since these things are so.))
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