(NewsNation) — Pigeons can detect the planet’s electromagnetic field through biological equipment in their inner ear, a new study says.
Research has long held that pigeons have some kind of magnetic-reception hardware that makes them such good long-distance navigators, and theories have postulated the source is embedded in the beak or eyes.
Now comes the new study from European neuroscientists, which homed in on the inner ear.
Neuroscientists did advanced brain mapping and analyzed the inner-ear cells of pigeons while exposing the birds to magnetic fields. They found highly sensitive electric sensors.
“Our data suggests that there’s a ‘dark compass’ in the inner ear,” said Professor David Keays of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany. “In all likelihood, magnetoreception has evolved convergently in different organisms. Much remains to be discovered.”
The bird-brained theory isn’t new. French naturalist Camille Viguier is credited with speculating pigeons have magnetic sensory powers within the inner ear all the way back in the late 19th century. His ideas fell into obscurity until now.