mardi 13 juillet 2010

Les rouge-gorges peuvent voir les champs magnétiques

Robins can literally see magnetic fields, but only if their vision is sharp | Discover Magazine:

Some birds can sense the Earth’s magnetic field and orientate themselves with the ease of a compass needle. This ability is a massive boon for migrating birds, keeping frequent flyers on the straight and narrow. But this incredible sense is closely tied to a more mundane one – vision. Thanks to special molecules in their retinas, birds like the European robins can literally see magnetic fields. The fields appear as patterns of light and shade, or even colour, superimposed onto what they normally see.