For most waterfowl species and many short distance migrants, young birds learn migration routes and breeding and wintering locations from older, more experienced birds, which are most often family members. For most long distance migrants, birds are born genetically programmed to fly in a certain direction for a certain amount of time. The first migration is completely under genetic control. As birds gain experience, they incorporate learned information. For instance, if they find a particular breeding or wintering location that is good, they may return to this location in the future by relying on learned information.
Buntings specifically use the pattern of stars around the North Star.
If young buntings are prevented from seeing the night sky during a critical stage in their development, they will not be able to orient properly for migration. This ability, therefore, is learned rather than genetically programmed. Other nocturnal migrants probably also use stars for compass direction. This can vary according to the immediate circumstances, for example, if it is a cloudy night and the stars are obscured, a nocturnal migrant many rely more on other sources of information. National Zoo Copyright 2001 All Worldwide Rights Reserved.