Birds Can Get Jet Lag on Long Flights, Study Reveals

Researchers have found that Manx shearwaters, a species of seabird, can experience jet lag on long, fast flights across the Atlantic. The birds' body clocks can diverge from local time by more than an hour, causing navigational errors. This phenomenon is likely not unique to birds, but may also affect other long-distance fliers, such as insects and bats. The study suggests that the birds rely on a sun compass to navigate, rather than Earth's magnetic field. When their internal clocks are reset, the birds head in the wrong direction, deviating from their course by up to 5 kilometers. This effect is small, but may explain why Manx shearwaters haven't evolved a mechanism to avoid jet lag.