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Celestial rotation: its importance in the development of migratory orientation
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|December 11, 1970
Summary
Indigo buntings learn migration routes by associating celestial cues with the axis of celestial rotation. Early visual exposure to a rotating night sky is crucial for developing migratory direction, refuting a genetic star map.
Area of Science:
- Ornithology
- Animal Behavior
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Celestial navigation is vital for migratory birds.
- The role of innate versus learned celestial cues in bird migration remains debated.
- Indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea) are long-distance migratory birds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of early visual experience with celestial cues in the development of migratory orientation in indigo buntings.
- To test the 'genetic star map' hypothesis versus a learning-based model for celestial navigation.
Main Methods:
- Hand-raising indigo buntings under controlled visual isolation from celestial cues.
- Exposing different groups to planetarium skies with normal or fictitious rotation axes before migration season.
- Testing migratory orientation in a planetarium setting.
Main Results:
- Birds visually isolated from the night sky as juveniles could not orient correctly.
- Birds exposed to a normally rotating night sky showed typical southerly migration.
- Birds exposed to a sky rotating around a fictitious axis oriented to that new axis.
Conclusions:
- The results do not support a genetic predisposition for specific star patterns.
- Migratory orientation appears to be learned through association of celestial cues with the axis of rotation.
- A maturation process involving learning is critical for developing accurate celestial navigation.
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