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Do you suppose they actually see the magnetic field, or does the avian brain process it some other way? It's somehow more difficult to imagine being a bird afte

by Igelau 5y ago

Do you suppose they actually see the magnetic field, or does the avian brain process it some other way? It's somehow more difficult to imagine being a bird after reading this. Unravelling the enigma to get to the mystery.

saul_goodman 5y ago
Not unlike the technicolor rainbow that the mantis shrimp sees with its magic eyes. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp https://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp
- jcims 5y ago
  Don’t forget zefrank’s exposé on the mantis shrimp: https://youtu.be/F5FEj9U-CJM https://youtu.be/F5FEj9U-CJM
thechao 5y ago
They™ think the birds see magnetic field lines. There's a good PBS Space Time video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1ouV7iD8o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1ouV7iD8o
- beerandt 5y ago
  I think it was described as being similar to polarization, and when they're aligned properly (I'm not sure it's N/S) with the magnetic field, everything looks "clearer."
Ty2873 5y ago
Can probably feel it (with whatever biomagnets they have) the same way we feel a repulsive force when trying push two like poles together. So imagine a wall of that force you walk along. It's not that large of a force. You can leap the invisible wall and find another parallel wall if you want but it's just more convenient to follow it till you find a nesting ground or food or whatever.
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uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 5y ago
When parrots dance it is always slightly off rhythm, but surely theyre sync'd with some aspect of the signal
moozilla 5y ago
Yeah, the proposed mechanism with cryptochromes works in the bird's retina, but it's unknown if it affects the normal visual field or is separate. There's some cool visualizations of it here: http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/cryptochrome/ http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/cryptochrome/ (from this paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20655831/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20655831/)
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aaron695 5y ago
Would you want to 'see' which way is up? There's nothing to see pre 100 years ago. And with human things unless the bird is actually centimetres away there is also nothing they could see given the resolution they could perceive. Literally there is only a direction. And they don't even have a north or south direction, if swapped they can't tell. So it's less of a sense than up/down.

by Igelau 5y ago

saul_goodman 5y ago

Not unlike the technicolor rainbow that the mantis shrimp sees with its magic eyes. https://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp https://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp

jcims 5y ago
Don’t forget zefrank’s exposé on the mantis shrimp: https://youtu.be/F5FEj9U-CJM https://youtu.be/F5FEj9U-CJM

thechao 5y ago

They™ think the birds see magnetic field lines. There's a good PBS Space Time video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1ouV7iD8o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1ouV7iD8o

beerandt 5y ago
I think it was described as being similar to polarization, and when they're aligned properly (I'm not sure it's N/S) with the magnetic field, everything looks "clearer."

Ty2873 5y ago

Can probably feel it (with whatever biomagnets they have) the same way we feel a repulsive force when trying push two like poles together. So imagine a wall of that force you walk along. It's not that large of a force. You can leap the invisible wall and find another parallel wall if you want but it's just more convenient to follow it till you find a nesting ground or food or whatever.

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uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 5y ago

When parrots dance it is always slightly off rhythm, but surely theyre sync'd with some aspect of the signal

moozilla 5y ago

Yeah, the proposed mechanism with cryptochromes works in the bird's retina, but it's unknown if it affects the normal visual field or is separate. There's some cool visualizations of it here: http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/cryptochrome/ http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/cryptochrome/ (from this paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20655831/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20655831/)

deleted 5y ago

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aaron695 5y ago

Would you want to 'see' which way is up? There's nothing to see pre 100 years ago. And with human things unless the bird is actually centimetres away there is also nothing they could see given the resolution they could perceive. Literally there is only a direction. And they don't even have a north or south direction, if swapped they can't tell. So it's less of a sense than up/down.