TY  - JOUR
AB  - Migratory silvereyes treated with a strong magnetic pulse shift their headings by approximately 908, indicating an involvement of magnetite-based receptors in the orientation process. Structures containing superparamagnetic magnetite have been described in the inner skin at the edges of the upper beak of birds, while single-domain magnetite particles are indicated in the nasal cavity. To test which of these structures mediate the pulse effect, we subjected migratory silvereyes, Zosterops l. lateralis, to a strong pulse, and then tested their orientation, while the skin of their upper beak was anaesthetized with a local anaesthetic to temporarily deactivate the magnetite-containing structures there. After the pulse, birds without anaesthesia showed the typical shift, whereas when their beak was anaesthetized, they maintained their original headings. This indicates that the superparamagnetic magnetite-containing structures in the skin of the upper beak are most likely the magnetoreceptors that cause the change in headings observed after pulse treatment.
AU  - Wiltschko, W
AU  - Munro, UH
AU  - Ford, H
AU  - Wiltschko, R
DA  - 2009/01/01
DO  - 10.1098/rspb.2009.0050
EP  - 2232
JO  - Proceedings Of The Royal Society Of London Series...
PB  - Royal Soc
PY  - 2009/01/01
SP  - 2227
TI  - Avian orientation: the pulse effect is mediated by the magnetite receptors in the upper beak
VL  - 276
Y1  - 2009/01/01
Y2  - 2026/06/03
ER  -