The sense of direction is a fascinating and essential aspect of human and animal behaviour that involves the ability to orient oneself in space and navigate through the environment. Discover the science behind how different species, from insects to humans, find their way and establish spatial relationships, including the role of sensory inputs, memory, learning, and cognitive processes. Learn about the factors that affect the sense of direction, from genetics and age to culture and experience, and the impact of technology and environment on wayfinding. Explore the practical applications of the sense of direction research, from urban planning to medicine, and this knowledge’s ethical and social implications. Discover our resources and expert insights on the sense of direction and expand your understanding of this fascinating and complex topic.
You will find other descriptions here of Henri Weimerskirch’s work on Albatrosses under Albatrosses on this site as well as Anna Gagliardo’s work on the use of smell in navigation. A book recently written by Adam Nicholson called “The Seabirds Cry” is fascinating about the mythology and lives of the sea birds in his book;…
This site takes you into the world where technology is trying to understand animal migration by using tags and a sophisticated satellite system to follow routes taken by animals. Up until now tags have often been very heavy, or at least too heavy for a lot of tiny birds that make huge migrations such as…
Warrant11 2016 Here is a fascinating paper about The Australian Bogong Moth Agrotis infusa: which is the most amazing Long-Distance Nocturnal Navigator. As they navigate at night their feat is perhaps even more amazing than the migration of the Monarch butterfly in the USA. Richard Nissen editor Warrant E, Frost B, Green K, Mouritsen H, Dreyer D, Adden A, Brauburger K and Heinze S (2016) The Australian…
In September 2015 I was asked to give a workshop at the Annual Conference of Dowsers on Animal Navigation. Of course I talked about how animals, including birds, navigate and all the outstanding questions that remain on how they do it. Those who came to my presentation were some of the best dowsers in the…
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/212/22/3597.full This link is a very complete overview of the animal navigation at present in 2015. It covers all the important work that has been done and discusses what has been found along with all the problems associated with different approaches. As you will see it ends up by saying that we still do not…
I love this little observation by James Mather… “I was on a ladder clearing the gutters end of last week, and over a period of hours heard a number of flocks of birds gathering to migrate, and I could see them heading off in V-formation. Then, at one point, low cloud closed in, but I…
I was looking through an old copy of Classic Boat magazine (September 2004) when I discovered this article on how traditional Polynesian navigators operated. I have précised this article. For me, the importance of all this is that humans are animals but we can communicate together so that insights on how we navigated before the…
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