They fly across oceans day and night without stopping with no landmarks for guidance. How do birds know in which direction to fly? Pauline Newman speaks with chemist Peter Hore who says bird might navigate following reactions in their eyes where proteins respond to the Earth’s magnetic field providing the information they need. For example, at just 5 months of age, a juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit can fly 13,560 kilometres over 11 days without stopping, all the way from Alaska to Tasmania.
Guest
Peter Hore
Professor Chemistry
University of Oxford
Oxford UK
Interviewer
Pauline Newman
Presenter
Robyn Williams
Producer
David Fisher
Image Details
Bar-tailed Godwit
Zoology