Portland Public Library

Supernavigators, exploring the wonders of how animals find their way, David Barrie ; illustrations by Neil Gower

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-294) and index

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Supernavigators

bibliography

1096213854

David Barrie ; illustrations by Neil Gower

exploring the wonders of how animals find their way

"A globetrotting voyage of discovery celebrating the navigational superpowers of animals -- by land, sea, and sky. Animals plainly know where they're going, but how they get there has remained surprisingly mysterious -- until now. In Supernavigators, award-winning author David Barrie catches us up on the cutting-edge science. Here are astounding animals of every stripe: Dung beetles that steer by the light of the Milky Way. Ants and bees that rely on patterns of light invisible to humans. Sea turtles and moths that find their way using Earth's magnetic field. Humpback whales that swim thousands of miles while holding a rocksteady course. Birds that can locate their nests on a tiny island after crisscrossing an ocean. The age of viewing animals as unthinking drones is over. As Supernavigators makes clear, a stunning array of species command senses and skills -- and arguably, types of intelligence -- beyond our own. Weaving together interviews with leading animal behaviorists and the groundbreaking discoveries of Nobel Prize-winning scientists, David Barrie reveals these wonders in a whole new light."--, Provided by publisher

pt. 1. Navigating without maps. Mr. Steadman and the monarch ; Jim Lovell's magic carpet ; A tangled horror ; Of desert warfare and ants ; The dancing bees ; Dead reckoning ; The racehorse of the insect world ; Steering by the shape of the sky ; How birds find true north ; Heavenly dung beetles ; Giant peacocks ; Can birds smell their way home? ; Sound navigation ; The earth's magnetism ; So how does the monarch navigate? ; The silver "Y" ; The dark lord of the snowy mountains -- pt. 2. The Holy Grail. Map and compass navigation ; Can birds solve the longitude problem? ; The mystery of sea turtle navigation ; Costa Rican adventures ; A light in the darkness ; The great magnetic mystery ; The seahorses in our heads ; The human navigational brain -- pt. 3. Why does navigation matter? The language of the earth ; Conclusions