I've just found this interesting news snippet on Yahoo news and thought I would share. 
Robins are 'supermen of the garden'
The friendly robin has a secret identity - as a garden super-hero with amazing powers, research has shown. Robins are 'supermen of the garden'. Like Superman, who has a red cape rather than a red breast, the robin has eyes that see more than the average mortal.
Scientists believe the tiny bird can "see" the Earth's magnetic field at night.
The information, relayed to a specialised light-processing region of the brain called "cluster N", helps the robin navigate on migration flights.
Experts know birds possess an internal magnetic compass, but there is disagreement about what form it takes. One idea is that tiny magnets in the beak wired to the nervous system detect lines of magnetic force. Another is that magnetic fields are "seen" via the eyes using a complex light-sensitive mechanism.
The new research suggests that, for robins at least, the second theory is probably correct.
German scientists studied 36 European robins and found birds with damage to "cluster N" were unable to orientate themselves using the Earth's magnetic field. But damage to another nerve channel necessary for a beak-sensing system had no effect.
The researchers, led by Dr Henrik Mouritsen from the University of Oldenburg, wrote in the journal Nature: "The results of the present study ... specifically suggest that cluster N of European robins is an essential part of a circuit processing light-dependent magnetic compass information for night-time orientation.
"The exact role of cluster N within this circuit has not been determined, but the present results raise the distinct possibility that this part of the visual system enables birds to 'see' magnetic compass information."
Other types of magnetic sensor may also exist in birds, said the scientists. There was strong evidence that upper beak magnetosensors were used by pigeons.
Full link to story: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20091028/tsc-robins-are-supermen-of-the-garden-4b158bc.html
Robins are 'supermen of the garden'
The friendly robin has a secret identity - as a garden super-hero with amazing powers, research has shown. Robins are 'supermen of the garden'. Like Superman, who has a red cape rather than a red breast, the robin has eyes that see more than the average mortal.
Scientists believe the tiny bird can "see" the Earth's magnetic field at night.
The information, relayed to a specialised light-processing region of the brain called "cluster N", helps the robin navigate on migration flights.
Experts know birds possess an internal magnetic compass, but there is disagreement about what form it takes. One idea is that tiny magnets in the beak wired to the nervous system detect lines of magnetic force. Another is that magnetic fields are "seen" via the eyes using a complex light-sensitive mechanism.
The new research suggests that, for robins at least, the second theory is probably correct.
German scientists studied 36 European robins and found birds with damage to "cluster N" were unable to orientate themselves using the Earth's magnetic field. But damage to another nerve channel necessary for a beak-sensing system had no effect.
The researchers, led by Dr Henrik Mouritsen from the University of Oldenburg, wrote in the journal Nature: "The results of the present study ... specifically suggest that cluster N of European robins is an essential part of a circuit processing light-dependent magnetic compass information for night-time orientation.
"The exact role of cluster N within this circuit has not been determined, but the present results raise the distinct possibility that this part of the visual system enables birds to 'see' magnetic compass information."
Other types of magnetic sensor may also exist in birds, said the scientists. There was strong evidence that upper beak magnetosensors were used by pigeons.
Full link to story: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20091028/tsc-robins-are-supermen-of-the-garden-4b158bc.html
