Why birds wear backpacks.

• Author: Burns, John F.
• Position: SCIENCE - Brief article

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Figuring out how migrating birds get from point A to point B has tong been a challenge for scientists. Now, researchers think a novel, device--a tiny bird backpack that contains sophisticated sensors and weighs less than a dime--will help provide the answers. The tracking system relies on instruments called solar geolocators that collect data on where the birds are in relation to the sun. "We knew that purple martins went to Brazil," says Bridget Stutchbury, a biologist at York University in Toronto, Canada. "But the details of what route they take, how fast they fly, how often they stop to rest--these are the kinds of details we...