Emlen funnel experiments revisited: methods update for studying compass orientation in songbirds.

ABSTRACT: Migratory songbirds carry an inherited capacity to migrate several thousand kilometers each year crossing continental landmasses and barriers between distant breeding sites and wintering areas. How individual songbirds manage with extreme precision to find their way is still largely unknown. The functional characteristics of biological compasses used by songbird migrants has mainly been investigated by recording the birds directed migratory activity in circular cages, so-called Emlen funnels. This method is 50 years old and has not received major updates over the past decades. The aim of this work was to compare the results from newly developed digital methods with the established manual methods to evaluate songbird migratory activity and orientation in circular cages.We performed orientat

SUBMITTER: Bianco G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5513225 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature