ISSN:
1420-9071
Keywords:
Bird migration
;
southern hemisphere migrants
;
migratory orientation
;
geomagnetic field
;
magnetic compass
;
inclination compass
;
Zosterops
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract We conducted orientation experiments with Silvereyes,Zosterops lateralis, Australian passerine migrants, to see whether birds living in the Southern Hemisphere in a magnetic field with an upward inclination orient in the same way as birds in the Northern Hemisphere that experience a downward inclination of the magnetic field. Tested indoors in the local geomagnetic field, the birds preferred southerly directions corresponding to their migratory direction in spring. In a magnetic field with a reversed vertical component, they reversed their directional tendencies. This shows that the magnetic compass of Silvereyes also functions as an inclination compass based on the inclination of the field lines instead of the polarity.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01989423
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