... with orientation cages inside an electromagnetic coil system are the most prominent methodological paradigm. These are, however, not applicable when studying larger bird species and/or orientation behaviour during free flight. For this, researchers have followed a very different approach, attaching small magnets...

... by performing orientation cage experiments and making simultaneous observations of free-flying birds using a tracking radar. The flight directions of free-flying birds were mainly towards southwest and did not differ between overcast and clear sky conditions. The caged birds, however, tended towards southwest...