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Robins Can Literally See Magnetic Fields, But Only if Their Vision is Sharp

Posted July 09, 2010 9:29 AM

From Discover:

Some birds can sense the Earth's magnetic field and orientate themselves with the ease of a compass needle. This ability is a massive boon for migrating birds, keeping frequent flyers on the straight and narrow. But this incredible sense is closely tied to a more mundane one - vision.

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Guru
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#1

Re: Robins Can Literally See Magnetic Fields, But Only if Their Vision is Sharp

07/10/2010 4:32 PM

...so, when will the new Robin-egg blue glasses for the masses be available from China for $1.99 each for us mortals?

...wink,wink!

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Guru
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#2

Re: Robins Can Literally See Magnetic Fields, But Only if Their Vision is Sharp

07/11/2010 7:06 PM

Groan.. thanks to this article, now every time I see a robin looking at me I have to figure out, is that the left or right eye it's looking with....

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#3

Re: Robins Can Literally See Magnetic Fields, But Only if Their Vision is Sharp

07/12/2010 11:45 AM

Well, I have trouble with saying you know what the bird sees unless you are the bird (or have mind-melded, Spock style, with a bird).

Vision can't be separated from consciousness. So, even if we could represent what a bird "sees" we are processing it with our consciousness, not the bird's.

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