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New Study Fuels Debate About Source of Birds’ Magnetic Sense
New Study Fuels Debate About Source of Birds’ Magnetic Sense
A detailed analysis of cryptochrome 4 shows that the protein is highly sensitive to magnetic fields in vitro, but some researchers dispute the authors’ assertion that the findings could help explain avian magnetoreception.
A detailed analysis of cryptochrome 4 shows that the protein is highly sensitive to magnetic fields in vitro, but some researchers dispute the authors’ assertion that the findings could help explain avian magnetoreception.
pigeons
Image of the Day: Flying High
Sukanya Charuchandra | Sep 11, 2018 | 1 min read
Researchers analyzed pigeons’ head movements in flight.
Image of the Day: Where Have All The Pigeons Gone?
The Scientist Staff and The Scientist Staff | Dec 8, 2017 | 1 min read
A new study sheds light on how the most abundant bird in North America went extinct.
Slideshow: Nerdy Birdies
The Scientist Staff | Nov 30, 2016 | 1 min read
Meet the pigeons that are redefining what it means to behave like a human by displaying remarkable pattern recognition abilities.
Behavior Brief
Karen Zusi | Jan 4, 2016 | 4 min read
A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research
Behavior Brief
Jenny Rood | Mar 9, 2015 | 5 min read
A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research
An Ear for Home
Jef Akst | Apr 1, 2013 | 4 min read
Pigeons may use ultra-low-frequency sounds to navigate—a strategy that could steer them off course in the face of infrasonic disturbances, such as sonic booms.
Reviving an Extinct Pigeon
Dan Cossins | Mar 18, 2013 | 2 min read
The passenger pigeon was hunted to extinction 99 years ago, but researchers are planning to use DNA from museum specimens to bring the bird back to life.
Genome Digest
Dan Cossins | Mar 6, 2013 | 5 min read
What researchers are learning as they sequence, map, and decode species’ genomes
Pigeon GPS Identified
Megan Scudellari | Apr 26, 2012 | 3 min read
A population of neurons in pigeon brains encodes direction, intensity, and polarity of the Earth’s magnetic field.
Behavior Brief
Jef Akst | Jan 4, 2012 | 5 min read
A roundup of recent discoveries in behavior research
The cost of flocking
Megan Scudellari | Jun 22, 2011 | 2 min read
Flying in a flock comes at a considerable energetic cost for pigeons, raising the question of why they do it.