NOTE-TAKING

READING: bird migration: theories

1. Sun and star compass
- diurnal birds: position of the sun
- nocturnal birds: when young star compass: developed
2. magnetic compass
- compasses in bird’s brains: orient according to magnetic north
- experiment: magnetic caps to reverse magnetic polarity
 opposite direction
= magnetic particle in brain detecting magnetic field
3. mapping
- biological map: remember geological details and retrace the way
- first migration: young birds learn land maps (ex. Geese)
LISTENING: bird migration: reservations
1. sun and stars
- day migrants: right direction in unclear sky (ex. Starling)
- night migrants: in closed rooms w/o sun and stars, birds migrate correctly
2. magnetic compass
- earth’s magnetic field: weak to sense, not fully explained
- birds utilize light
(ex. European robins: visual center and light-sensing cells)
3. geography
- skeptical to include long-distance birds
= radar evidence: birds ignore landmarks

SAMPLE ESSAY:

The lecturer questions theories about bird migration suggested in the reading passage. The lecturer’s
position rebuts the reading passage’s argument that birds use celestial cues, magnetic compasses, and
geographical features to migrate in the right direction.

First, according to the lecturer, when the sky is covered with clouds, the sun and stars are not available
to birds. However, diurnal such as starlings can find the proper way even when the sun is invisible in the
cloudy sky. Likewise, night migrants, called nocturnal, migrate correctly although they are caged in rooms
where they cannot see the stars. This is contrary to the reading passage’s statement that birds can orient
themselves to the position of the sun and the stars.

Second, the lecturer argues that since the earth’s magnetic field is too weak, it is extremely difficult for
birds to detect. Also, researchers claim that how the sense magnetic fields are still vague. Some think
that birds use not magnetic fields but light, mentioning European Robins as an example. However, the
reading passage refutes that birds utilize a magnetic compass to navigate in the appropriate direction.

Third, the professor maintains that migratory birds, particularly long-distance birds spotted on radar, do
not rely on the geographical features to return to the same place annually. On top of that, not all
scientists are satisfied with this assumption in that there has been no clear scientific evidence to
substantiate this theory. This contradicts the author’s standpoint that birds have a mapping ability, which
helps them to determine the proper direction.