Coming in for a Landing!

Link for photo

I recently read an article in The Economist in the Science and Technology section that confirms my own personal observations. Flocks of birds land together in the same direction without any collisions and apparently they are aligned with the Earth's magnetic field as demonstrated in the pictures I found online above. Their preference is to land on the north-south axis regardless of weather, time of day or year or environment.

For the latest research on this subject, read on: http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21583591-how-flocking-birds-avoid-colliding-when-they-touch-down-birds-feather-land

For the original article in Frontiers in Zoology by H. Burda
see : http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/content/10/1/38