[an error occurred while processing this directive] BBC News
watch One-Minute World News Last Updated: Thursday, 7 December
2006, 04:40 GMT Magnetic field puts bats on track By Rebecca
Morelle Science reporter, BBC News  Big brown bat (Maarten
Vonhof) The team looked at a species known as big brown bats
The mystery of how bats can navigate long distances in the dark
may have been solved.  Scientists believe big brown bats,
Eptesicus fuscus, rely on the Earth's magnetic field to keep
their bearings as they swoop the night sky.  The team, writing
in Nature, said the finding added to "the impressive array" of
sensory abilities that the creatures use to steer in the dark.
Over short ranges, bats orient by bouncing sound waves from
objects.  This process, called echolocation, helps them to
locate prey and dodge obstacles.  However, it is less useful
over longer distances, and researchers have been unsure how bats
navigate their way home after a night of hunting.  Creatures
such as homing pigeons, migratory birds