Orientation in the wandering albatross: interfering with magnetic perception does not affect orientation performance

After making foraging flights of several thousands of kilometres, wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) are able to pinpoint a specific remote island where their nests are located. This impressive navigation ability is highly precise but its nature is mysterious. Here we examined whether albatrosses rely on the perception of the Earth’s magnetic field to accomplish this task.

F. Bonadonna et al., Proc. R. Soc. B (2005) 272, 489-495