Professor Ian Jones, St John’s Memorial University, and Dr Sampath Seneviratne, University of British Columbia, shared their insights and suspicions that certain feathers on a bird’s body could serve to heighten the sense of touch. When looking at birds, such as the auklet, which have intricate feathers on their heads, scientists found that by putting them through a simple navigational test, much was revealed in regard to the role that crests and head feathers play. Using a dark maze, as this breed tends to breed in dark crevices, it was found that when the birds navigated the test, they succeeded in completing the maze with less difficulty than when researchers flattened their head feathers. It was also noted that in general, if birds have ornamental feathering, they tend to be birds that are active at night.

Researchers then looked at bird species that do not feature elaborate feathering, including pheasants, kingfishers, parrots, penguins and owls. They suggest that even if some birds do not have crests and rectal bristles, longer wing feathers may also serve as a means of touch. Many birds use their feathers and coloring to show off their abilities and to either startle or camouflage themselves from their predators, but there is good reason to believe that feathers have various other functions that we have not been aware of until now. The new insight into facial feathers and flamboyant feathering could lead to further studies,to confirm these findings and the preliminary research. This use of their feathers for touch and orientation has revealed a more complex side to birds, and will have us gazing a little more intently whenever we look at these colorful creatures of the skies.

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For decades scientists have been puzzling over an intriguing wildlife mystery: how is it that birds navigate? Each year thousands of these feathered creatures make massive journeys halfway around the globe – yet exactly how they find their way to their destinations each year just boggles the mind.

Until recently, there were two theories with regard to this amazing natural phenomenon in bird species. The first is that birds have tiny particles in their upper beaks. These particles, called magnetite, respond to shifts in the Earth’s magnetic field. The theory was credible and proved by research done with homing pigeons four years ago. The second theory, however, was still unsubstantiated. This theory revolved around the idea of a photochemical compass. It was thought that a protein, which was triggered by light through the bird’s eye, responded to magnetism thus providing a guiding compass that they could navigate by. This theory was considered to be weak since no one knew of a molecule that could respond to the Earth’s geomagnetic force so sensitively. However Oxford University has recently given weight to this concept by creating a compound that shows that this sort of chemical compass is possible.

Though this compound has thus far only been made and tested in a laboratory, it links the two biological pigments known as carotenoid and porphyrin with a carbon molecule known as fullerene. The process starts when a burst of light is used to excite the compound, resulting in the creation of ‘radical pairs’ of electrons. These each have a property called spin and research has shown that a magnetic field can cause the spins to become aligned. In theory, when the Earth’s gravity aligns these spins in the bird’s built-in compass, it most likely triggers a biochemical reaction that tells the bird what it needs to know about the magnetic field and helps direct it to its destination.

To scientists the new research is proof that the concept is possible. It also ties in nicely with previous research and it is thought likely that this is just one aspect of a complex navigational system that is commonly used by birds. However the debate is not over yet as it is still not known how the bird’s brain would be able to receive these informative signals and interpret them. Theories abound regarding this but have yet to be proven and properly understood.

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