Orientation in the wandering albatross: interfering with magnetic perception does not affect orientation performance

After making foraging flights of several thousands of kilometres, wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) are able to pinpoint a specific remote island where their nests are located. This impressive navigation ability is highly precise but its nature is mysterious. Here we examined whether albatrosses rely on the perception of the Earth's magnetic field to accomplish this task. We disturbed the perception of the magnetic field using mobile magnets glued to the head of nine albatrosses and compared their performances with those of 11 control birds. We then used satellite telemetry to monitor their behaviour. We found that the ability of birds to home to specific nest sites was unimpaired by this manipulation. In particular, experimental and control birds did not show significant differences with respect to either foraging trip duration, or length, or with respect to homing straightness index. Our data suggest that wandering albatrosses do not require magnetic cues to navigate back to their nesting sites

All across Africa: highly individual migration routes of Eleonora's falcon

Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae) is a rare raptor species that delays its breeding period until late summer to feed its young with passerines at the peak of autumn migration. Since the 1950s, this slender winged falcon has been believed to migrate along a historical route via the Red Sea to its main wintering area in Madagascar. In our study, we used satellite telemetry to investigate the real migration route of Eleonora's falcons and found that the species displayed a highly individual migration pattern. Furthermore, juvenile falcons migrated via West Africa to Madagascar and two juveniles could be tracked during spring migration and to their summering areas in East and West Africa. As juveniles migrated independently of adults, we discuss inherited navigation strategies forming part of a complex navigation system. We propose the idea of an orientation mechanism that naive falcons could apply during their long-distance migration towards their faraway wintering area located in the open ocean