Migrating birds may "see" Earth`s magnetic field

Migrating birds, it seems, can "see" the Earth's magnetic field which they use as a compass to guide them around the globe.

Specialised neurons in the eye, sensitive to magnetic direction, have been shown for the first time to connect via a specific brain pathway to an area in the forebrain of birds responsible for vision, German researchers said on Wednesday.

Scientists have known for many years, from behavioural experiments, that birds use an internal magnetic compass to navigate on their epic annual journeys. But exactly how the system works has been a mystery.