Study
Lateralization of magnetic compass orientation in a migratory bird
Wiltschko, Wolfgang; Traudt, Joachim; Güntürkün, Onur; Prior, Helmut; Wiltschko, Roswitha
Nature, 2002
Migratory robins were tested in orientation cages with one eye covered, then the other, and finally with both eyes open, and the accuracy of their magnetic heading compared across the three conditions.
- Studied in
- Erithacus rubecula
- Sample size
- robins tested with one eye covered
Birds using the right eye oriented normally. Birds restricted to the left eye were disoriented.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
The magnetic compass in this species is lateralised and depends on input through the right eye.
How NatureHQ reads it
Included because it is the clearest link anywhere between magnetic orientation and the visual system — a compass that stops working when you cover one eye is not being read by the beak. It is also a caution: the lateralisation has been reported inconsistently since, appearing in some studies and some age groups and not others, and it is the kind of result whose robustness matters more than its elegance.
- Later work has found the lateralisation to be inconsistent, developmentally variable and absent in some conditions.
- One species, small samples, and orientation-cage behaviour as the readout.
- A dependence on the eye is not a demonstration that the receptor is in the eye.
Covering one eye of a bird trying to migrate
If a bird’s magnetic compass runs through its eyes, does it matter which eye?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Magnetoreception
The leading idea is that a bird’s compass is chemical and needs light: absorbing a photon creates a pair of molecules whose behaviour depends on the angle of the surrounding magnetic field.
Magnetoreception
A bird’s compass appears to run through its eyes and to need light. That is not the same as the bird seeing the magnetic field, and nothing has shown that it does.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
Checked against Crossref and OpenAlex on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-02.