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First published online October 7, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 3344-3350 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.020313

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Light-dependent magnetoreception: orientation behaviour of migratory birds under dim red light

Roswitha Wiltschko¹, Ursula Munro², Hugh Ford³, Katrin Stapput^1,* and Wolfgang Wiltschko^1,

¹ Fachbereich Biowissenschaften der J. W. Goethe-Universität, Siesmayerstrasse 70, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
² Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
³ Division of Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia

Author for correspondence (e-mail: wiltschko{at}bio.uni-frankfurt.de)

Accepted 11 August 2008

Magnetic compass orientation in migratory birds has been shown to be based on radical pair processes and to require light from the short wavelength part of the spectrum up to 565 nm Green. Under dim red light of 645 nm wavelength and 1 mW m^–2 intensity, Australian silvereyes and European robins showed a westerly tendency that did not change between spring and autumn, identifying it as a `fixed direction' response. A thorough analysis revealed that this orientation did not involve the inclination compass, but was a response based on the polarity of the magnetic field. Furthermore, in contrast to the orientation under short-wavelength light, it could be disrupted by local anaesthesia of the upper beak where iron-containing receptors are located, indicating that it is controlled by these receptors. The similarity of the response under dim red light to the response in total darkness suggests that the two responses may be identical. These findings indicate that the observed `fixed direction' response under dim red light is fundamentally different from the normal compass orientation, which is based on radical pair processes.

Key words: migratory orientation, magnetic compass, `fixed direction' response, magnetoreception, iron-based receptors, radical pair mechanism

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