Can seabirds hear their way across the ocean? Our research suggests so

There has been a lot of research into how seabirds choose their flight paths and find food. They seem to use their sight or sense of smell to assess local conditions.

Wandering albatrosses can travel more than 10,000km in a single foraging trip, though, and we don’t know much about how these birds use mid- and long-range cues from their environment to decide where to go.

For the first time, however, my team’s recent study gives an insight into how birds such as wandering albatrosses may use sound to determine what conditions are like further away.