Monday, February 6, 2012

Testing navigation: a demonstration

How researchers were able to conclude that some birds may use the stars for navigation?  

Right, is a diagram of the Emlen, funnel discussed in class.  Ink marks demonstrate the direction in which the bird was trying to fly - note the seasonal difference.  

To test if birds use stars for navigating at night, these funnels would have been placed in a planetarium, where researchers were able to manipulate the orientation of stars.

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