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Robins can see Magnetic Fields like a Heads Up Display
Brandon Davenport
Guess what? Nature just one-upped technology again, but this time its because if an organic HUD (heads up display) that belongs to the Robin. Before the car was invented, robins were already using advanced HUDs to view magnetic fields — augmented reality style.
Researchers led by Katrin Stapput of Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany, studied the vision of the European robin to try to learn more about how the magnetic sensing might work. They found that if the right eye was covered by a frosted goggle, the birds could not navigate effectively, while they could navigate perfectly well if the left eye was covered instead — Phys Org
So the deal is before now, the public understood that the robins “felt” which way is south and their surroundings overall. Over time, studies were carried out to confirm the ability of birds to sense magnetic fields. The surprising organic feat was first discovered in 1968 in the European robin, and until now the details were still very unclear.
Recent studies by Goethe University reveal that the robins have a very unique way of getting around in which their right eye displays a sort of heads up display, on top of their normal vision. When a team of researchers strapped a fogged up goggle on the robbin’s right eye (photo to left), the bird couldn’t understand where it was, but when the left eye was covered the robin could navigate normally.
This is only the beginning though — without going in-depth, the robins eyes are only a gateway for the unique ability. Research hasn’t begun to uncover everything we need to know, but they have figured out that this astounding ability is probably controlled by a molecule called cryptochrome. Cryptochrome is found in the light-sensitive cells of a bird’s retina and when cryptochrome is struck by blue light (aka the sky), it effects the way the robin’s retina senses light, all controlled by the left side of their brain.
This same thing happens in a partner molecule called FAD which shares certain traits with Cryptochrome such as an unpaired electron. Magnetic fields act upon the unpaired electrons, and control how the birds see light, in this case the blue sky. So basically, magnetic fields control how the robin sees light, and thus allows it to have a sort of HUD.
So as you can see above, the birds have a “symbol” system that tells them where they are in the world. It is displayed as a series of curved gradients on the horizon that is created by their unique ability to “see” magnetic fields. The top row is sort of like an overlay that is placed on top of the birds vision, and then changes accordingly. There is still research to be done, but scientists have already figured out that pigeons, have small crystals of magnetite in their beaks, which is magnetic. This could provide further hints about how these birds find their way around our world (even in the dark).
