The vestibular system, a set of structures in the inner ears that helps with balance, may grant the birds their special ...

"The cells we describe are ideally equipped to detect magnetic fields using electromagnetic induction—enabling pigeons to find their way home using the same physical principle which permits the ...

Pigeons have long stunned scientists with their ability to cross unfamiliar landscapes and still find their way home, even when landmarks vanish and the sky is overcast. Researchers are now closing in ...

Pigeons can sense Earth’s magnetic field by detecting tiny electric currents in their inner ears, a team of researchers suggests. Such an inner compass could help to explain how certain animals can ...

Many migratory birds use Earth’s magnetic field as a compass, but some can also use information from that field to determine more or less where they are on a mental map. Eurasian reed warblers ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

But, unlike humans, animals that travel long distances must rely on their own senses. And some of them have a long-range ...

Many animals—from bats, to migratory birds and sea turtles use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate. Yet despite decades of research, scientists still know surprisingly little about the magnetic ...

LMU neurobiologists have identified a neural pathway for processing magnetic information that originates in the inner ear. In 1882, the French Naturalist Camille Viguier was amongst the first to ...