Researchers have long suspected that birds can see magnetic fields.
Now, two new studies (one examining zebra finches and the other looking at European robins) have identified a specific protein that gives them this uncanny sense.
Both single out Cry4, a light-sensitive protein found in the retina. This raises the interesting possibility that birds can see geomagnetic storms–not only by watching auroras as humans do, but also by witnessing the underlying unrest of Earth’s magnetic field.
Learn more about this research from ScienceNews
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/birds-get-their-internal-compass-newly-id-eye-protein
