Published On 4/21/2026
A multidisciplinary research team has succeeded in drawing the first accurate three-dimensional digital map of the brain of a migratory bird, an achievement that may help understand how birds are able to navigate across thousands of kilometers with amazing accuracy, without the need for navigation tools such as those used by humans.
In the study published on April 20 in the journal Current Biology, the researchers focused on the Eurasian blackcap, which is one of the most famous migratory birds, and in its long journeys it relies on complex natural signals, such as the position of the sun and stars, as well as the Earth’s magnetic field.
What is a brain map?
The study’s lead author, Simon Wheeler, a senior research fellow in neuroscience at the Sainsbury Wellcome Center at the University of London, explains that a brain map is a 3D digital model that shows what the brain looks like from the inside, identifying its different parts and the function of each part. It can be likened to a detailed map of a city, showing neighborhoods and main roads, and helps understand how information moves within the brain.
The researcher said in statements to Al Jazeera Net that the team not only drew this map, but also made it available to scientists around the world, so that it can be used as a unified reference for comparison between different studies. He also developed software tools that allow for the production of similar maps for other types of animals.
To create this map, the team used a very advanced imaging technique that allows brain tissue to be seen with microscopic resolution. “In simple terms, this technique takes successive images of very thin layers of the brain, then stitches them together on a computer to form a complete 3D model,” Wheeler explains.
The researchers also scanned the brains of eight birds, then combined the data to create a model that represents the general shape of this species’ brain. After that, they manually identified dozens of different regions within the brain, bringing the number to 44 regions, including sensory centers, information processing areas, and parts believed to be related to the perception of magnetic fields.
How does the brain help birds navigate?
One of the most important findings of the study is that there is a direct link between the areas responsible for sensing the magnetic field in the bird’s brain and the areas that make decisions. This means – according to the researchers – that the bird not only knows the direction, but also uses this information immediately to make decisions during flight, such as choosing a path or adjusting its direction in real time.
The main author believes that the importance of this discovery comes from the fact that migratory birds are among the most accurate creatures in natural navigation. They can travel very long distances, sometimes thousands of kilometers, with an amazing ability to reach the same places year after year.
The importance of this study is not limited to understanding birds only, but extends to broader scientific fields. Understanding how the brain processes information and makes decisions during movement may help develop new techniques in artificial intelligence, improve navigation systems, or even understand some of the functions of the human brain.
Making this map openly available represents an important step in scientific cooperation, as researchers around the world can use the same data and link their results to it, which accelerates the progress of research. The team points out that this technology can also be used to re-examine old brain samples that have been preserved for years, which may reveal new information from already existing data.
The team is currently working on developing similar maps for other types of birds, such as the zebra finch, which is often used in studying vocal learning, in the hope of building a common language that will help scientists compare the brains of different species and understand them more deeply.
