Scientists have have known that birds are able to see magnetic fields, and utilize this seeing power to navigate their way on their day to day lives, and on long migrations. This “ 6th sense” or magnetoreception birds possess is incredible, however scientists always thought that it was the iron in their beaks that helped them navigate their way. Now however, they realize that birds have a substance in their eyes that gives them the power to see magnetic fields. This substance is a protein called Cry4 that allows the birds to detect blue light. Scientists performed a number of experiments to determine that it was the Cry4 protein that enables birds to see magnetic fields. One of the results compared the amount of Cry4 in robins and chickens. Since chickens don’t migrate and generally stay in one place, there was less Cry4 in their eyes than that in robins, who migrate regularly. These results were published in the journal Current Biology. I think this discovery is amazing, and it shows the superpowers that birds possess. 

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