How birds can see the Earth’s magnetic field, and why do they need it

The most amazing of all warm-blooded vertebrates are the birds that lay their eggs, from which their offspring then emerges. Many birds are great parents and raise their babies for a long time. During evolution, these amazing creatures acquired wings and beak instead of forelimbs. These individuals are socially adapted animals, they communicate with their neighbors with sounds, thereby protecting themselves from predators or hunting together. Birds prefer to travel, many migrate regularly, some just fly within their range. Arctic Tern - the champion among migrants, overcomes up to 90 thousand kilometers per year. Birds inhabit all the ecological systems of the Earth. Science knows more than 10 thousand species of birds, and twice as many subspecies.

High metabolic rate, excellent appetite, all this is due to their flying ability. All these qualities help birds to cope with large muscle loads and the cost of a large amount of energy during flights. The volume eaten by birds can reach 28% of their body weight. The respiratory system of these flyers is the most complex of all animals, their body at height requires enhanced gas exchange. However, the most incredible thing about these creatures is that they see the Earth’s magnetic field. This is possible thanks to the eye protein cryptochrome - a photoreceptor sensitive to blue and ultraviolet light. He is responsible for the cyclical nature of the animal’s biorhythms throughout the day and, which was recently proved, for the ability to choose the direction based on the electromagnetic field of the planet.

Scientists who carried out research on zaryanniks determined with accuracy that cryptochrome-4 (Cry4) is the magnetoreceptive main protein in migratory songbirds. It is regulated during body migration. According to researchers at the University of Illinois, thanks to the protein, this species of birds sees magnetic lines invisible to our eyes and selects the correct flight direction. It is worth noting that scientific work in this area is still ongoing, which means that soon we will be pleased with even more grandiose discoveries.