Birds are Astronomers

Exactly how animals are able to migrate across the Earth with accuracy and precision is still a somewhat murky topic.  Some use geographical markers (like lakes or land masses) while others rely on the Earth's magnetism the way compasses do and still more use devices that we have not yet uncovered.  They seem to just know.

One particular animal, the Indigo Bunting, uses stars.  A series of experiments showed that baby birds in the nest are watching the night sky and how the stars rotate around Polaris, or the North Star.  From this, they learn which way is due north are able to fly accordingly during migration.

A set of experiments placed baby Indigo Buntings in a planetarium and rotated the stars around Betelgeuse instead of Polaris.  When the birds were released, they flew as if Betelgeuse were the North Star.  It seems they are learning the pattern of star rotation before they can even fly.  Further support has found that Indigo Buntings have difficulty with direction on cloudy evenings.

Very interesting!

More Info: http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_10_99.html