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Published August 27, 2026 | Version v1
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Jet-lagged birds: longitudinal flights cause time-shifts and sun compass error

Description

Many animals use the sun compass to guide their movement, sometimes over thousands of kilometres. Consistent use of the sun compass relies on the endogenous clock to track the sun's arc, yet animals travelling east-west might experience mismatches between their internal clock and local time (clock-shift). Using GPS, we reveal that Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus) experience such shifts during homing flights, generating predictable errors in sun compass orientation. Use of the sun compass persists even when shearwaters have access to compass-independent cues during coast-following. Our findings provide a new avenue for chronobiology research in the wild, suggest that rapid longitudinal movements may impact other processes governed by the endogenous clock, and that conserved chronobiological mechanisms impose remarkable constraints on navigation.

Notes

Funding provided by: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
ROR ID: https://ror.org/00cwqg982
Award Number: BB/M011224/1

Funding provided by: Natural Environment Research Council
ROR ID: https://ror.org/02b5d8509
Award Number: NE/W001217/1

Funding provided by: Natural Environment Research Council
ROR ID: https://ror.org/02b5d8509
Award Number: NE/S007474/1

Funding provided by: Leverhulme Trust
ROR ID: https://ror.org/012mzw131
Award Number: RPG-2020-311

Funding provided by: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
ROR ID: https://ror.org/00hhkn466
Award Number: 23KK0116

Funding provided by: National Science Centre
ROR ID: https://ror.org/03ha2q922
Award Number: 2021/40/C/NZ8/00043

Funding provided by: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
ROR ID: https://ror.org/00hhkn466
Award Number: 22K21355

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Additional details

Related works

Is source of
10.5061/dryad.nk98sf85b (DOI)