In the late summer, many birds in various parts of the world leave their homes and fly south for the winter. Sometimes they travel to other continents, thousands of miles away. Next spring, these birds return not only to the same country, but often to the very same nest in the same building! How do they find their way?

Various interesting experiments have been made to try to find the answer. In one of these, a group of storks was taken from their nests before the time of the autumn migration and moved to another place. From this new location, they would have to travel in a new direction to reach their winter feeding grounds. But when the time came, they took off in exactly the same direction they would have followed from their old home! It seems as if they have an inborn instinct that tells them to fly off in a certain direction when winter approaches. The ability of birds to find their way home is equally amazing.

Birds have been taken by airplane from their home to places 400 miles away. When they were set free, they flew back to their home!

To say they have an instinct to “go home” doesn’t really explain the mystery. How do they find their way? We know that young birds are not taught the road by their parents, because often the parents fly off first on the annual migrations. And birds who fly home often fly by night, so they can’t see landmarks to guide them. Other birds fly over water, where there are no landmarks of any kind.

One theory is that birds can sense the magnetic fields that surround the earth. Magnetic lines of force stretch from the north to the south magnetic poles. Perhaps the birds direct themselves by these lines. But this theory has never been proven.

The fact is, science just doesn’t have a full explanation of how birds find their way when they migrate or fly home! An interesting bit of history is related to the migration of birds. When Columbus was approaching the American continent, he saw great flocks of birds flying to the southwest. This meant land was near, so he changed his direction to the southwest to follow the direction taken by the birds. And that is why he landed in the Bahamas, instead of on the Florida coast!