The Interaction of Stars and Magnetic Field in the Orientation System of Night Migrating Birds

Abstract

In the autumn migration periods of 1971, 1972, and 1973 the orientation behavior in registration cages of Sylvia communis, S. borin and S. cantillans was analyzed to find out what relative importance the birds assign to information from the stars and from the magnetic field for direction finding. We obtained the following results: 1. Under clear sky in the local earth's magnetic field (Control) the warblers showed directional preferences that corresponded to their expected migratory direction based on ringing recoveries. 2. When magnetic north was turned by 120 degrees to ESE (Test), all three species preferred on clear nights their migratory direction according to the magnetic field, in spite of contradicting information from the stars. 3. In a partly compensated magnetic field, which could not be used for orientation any more, no significant directional preference could be observed, although the stars were visible. Dividing these data into two groups according to whether the birds had been tested in Control or Test previously, we found a tendency for the directions selected here to depend upon the north direction of the magnetic field during the bird's previous tests. From this and from the observation that the concentration of orientation behavior decreases in the absence of stars, we derive the following orientational model: The magnetic field provides the primary directional information for migrating birds. The stars do not contain directional information in themselves, but they can become secondary sources of orientation when information from the magnetic field has been transferred to them previously. The importance of this mechanism lies in making it easier for the birds to maintain their migratory direction. The ecological advantages of such a system are discussed and critically compared to the other models of star orientation.