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Sunset and the orientation of a nocturnal migrant bird

Abstract

THE information required for compass orientation among migratory birds is potentially available in the form of numerous environmental stimuli or cues1. Most passerine migrants complete their annual migrations at night, and their orientation is though to depend on a star compass or one based on geomagnetic stimuli1. The pioneering work of Kramer2 suggested that the setting sun may play a part in the migratory orientation of birds, but this possibility attracted little attention until more recently1. I present here the first experimental evidence that directional information at the time of sunset plays a crucial part in the compass orientation of a nocturnal migrant Passerculus sandwichensis, the savannah sparrow.

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MOORE, F. Sunset and the orientation of a nocturnal migrant bird. Nature 274, 154–156 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/274154a0

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