Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Bird Navigation

NPR's Richard Harris reports that researchers have determined that the way birds navigate is much more complicated than previously believed. Researchers had thought that birds used the stars to navigate and used the Earth's magnetic field as a back-up. New research indicates birds use the stars to get a general sense of where they are going, and the magnetic field to hone in their exact target.

Copyright 1996 NPR