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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

A Magnetic Tether System to Investigate Visual and Olfactory Mediated Flight Control in Drosophila
Published on: November 21, 2008
Light-dependent magnetoreception in birds: interaction of at least two different receptors
Wolfgang Wiltschko1, Marcus Gesson, Katrin Stapput
1Fachbereich Biologie und Informatik, Zoologie, J.W. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70, 60054, Frankfurt a.M., Germany. wiltschko@zoology.uni-frankfurt.de
Abstract:
Passerine migrants require light from the blue-green part of the spectrum for magnetic compass orientation; under yellow light, they are disoriented. European robins tested under a combination of yellow light and blue or green light showed a change in behavior, no longer preferring their seasonally appropriate migratory direction: in spring as well as in autumn, they preferred southerly headings under blue-and-yellow and northerly headings under green-and-yellow light. This clearly shows that yellow light is not neutral and suggests the involvement of at least two types of receptors in obtaining magnetic compass information, with the specific interaction of these receptors being rather complex.
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