Editorial: A seabird's 'jet lag' shows how a sun compass can mislead a sure navigator
In one line: Manx shearwaters steer by the Sun using their body clocks, and when long eastward flights leave those clocks behind local time, the birds drift slightly off course, a seabird version of jet lag.
Published 8 November 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
The Indian Express editorial of 8 November 2026, 'The bird that follows the Sun, and steps out of time', draws on a new study of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), a seabird closely related to the albatross that nests on islands off the western coasts of Britain and Ireland. University of Oxford researchers, including behavioural ecologist Patrick Lewin, analysed about two decades of GPS tracking data, covering 1,045 birds and 3,688 foraging trips over the Atlantic. The work, published in the journal Science in late October 2026, found that long flights across time zones can throw the birds' internal clocks out of step with local solar time, much like human jet lag.
The birds appear to use the Sun as a compass. To do that, an animal must know the time of day, because the Sun's position in the sky changes as the Earth turns. When shearwaters fly east, their internal clocks can lag local time by up to an hour, so they misjudge where the Sun should be. The researchers found that eastward-flying birds tended to drift clockwise, which fits a clock running behind. Their models showed this pattern was better explained by sun-compass errors than by changes in the Earth's magnetic field. The errors persisted even when birds flew along visible coastlines: they flew closer to shore when the predicted error pointed towards land and farther out to sea when it pointed away, suggesting they kept trusting the Sun.
The errors were small and did not stop birds from getting home, because they can reassess their position and correct course as they go. The editorial uses the finding to make a wider point. It links the birds' problem to human jet lag, opens with Alan Lightman's novel 'Einstein's Dreams', and argues that a creature can be entirely confident of its destination and still go astray because of a small, invisible internal error. Its lesson is to hold one's assumptions with humility, however well-founded they seem. For aspirants, the story is a clear example of how biology and astronomy interact in animal migration, a theme Prelims has tested through migratory birds such as the Amur falcon.
Prelims facts
- A University of Oxford study of Manx shearwaters, published in Science in October 2026, used about 20 years of GPS data on 1,045 birds and 3,688 foraging trips.
- Shearwaters use a sun compass, which requires knowing the time of day; flying east can leave their internal clocks up to an hour behind local time.
- Eastward-flying birds drifted clockwise, a pattern better explained by sun-compass error than by changes in the Earth's magnetic field.
- The birds kept relying on the Sun even over visible coastlines, though the errors were small and correctable.
- The Indian Express editorial uses the finding to argue that confidence in a destination does not guarantee the right route.
Quick recall
- Which bird was studied for 'jet lag' in navigation?
- The Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus).
- Which university led the Manx shearwater navigation study?
- The University of Oxford (lead analyst Patrick Lewin).
- How many birds and trips did the study analyse?
- 1,045 birds and 3,688 foraging trips, from about 20 years of GPS data.
- In which journal was the study published?
- Science (October 2026).
- By how much could the birds' clocks lag after flying east?
- Up to an hour behind local time.
- Which way did eastward-flying shearwaters drift?
- Clockwise.
- How fast does the Sun appear to move across the sky?
- About 15 degrees an hour (360 degrees in 24 hours).
- What was the Indian Express editorial's title?
- 'The bird that follows the Sun, and steps out of time' (8 November 2026).
Prelims practice question
Consider the following statements about the sun compass used by migratory birds:
1. To use the Sun for direction, a bird must account for the time of day.
2. A bird whose internal clock lags behind local time will misjudge the Sun's position.
3. A sun compass works independently of the bird's circadian (body) clock.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only. 1 is correct: the Sun's position shifts through the day, so the compass must be time-compensated. 2 is correct: the Manx shearwater study found birds whose clocks lagged after eastward flights misjudged the Sun and drifted clockwise. 3 is wrong: the sun compass depends on the internal clock, which is exactly why 'jet lag' throws it off.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Science of animal migration and navigation; certainty and wisdom as Essay themes
- How to use this
Use the shearwater as an opening or closing illustration that certainty is not the same as truth, and that wisdom means checking one's own assumptions.
- Manx shearwaters steer by the Sun, but after eastward flights their body clocks lag up to an hour, so they drift off course while fully confident.
- Even along visible coastlines the birds kept trusting their internal compass; they still get home because they keep reassessing their position.
Statement 2 is wrong because tracking devices only record routes; birds navigate with their own cues, such as the time-compensated sun compass shown in the shearwater study.
Mains practice question
What is a time-compensated sun compass? With reference to the recent study on Manx shearwaters, explain how an animal's internal clock can affect its navigation. (150 words)
Model answer
A time-compensated sun compass is a navigation method in which an animal uses the Sun's position for direction, correcting for the time of day with its internal (circadian) clock, since the Sun appears to move about 15 degrees an hour.
The shearwater study
- Oxford researchers analysed about 20 years of GPS data: 1,045 Manx shearwaters and 3,688 foraging trips over the Atlantic (Science, October 2026).
- After flying east, birds' clocks lagged local time by up to an hour, like jet lag.
- They drifted clockwise, which sun-compass error explains better than magnetic changes.
- Birds kept trusting the Sun even along visible coastlines.
What it shows
- Navigation depends on a precise internal clock, not only on external cues.
- Errors were small and correctable, as birds reassess their position.
- The researchers say the next step is to understand how such errors affect the birds.
The study shows biology and astronomy working together in the open ocean, and the limits of even well-tuned instincts.
The basics
Why this matters
Animal navigation is a recurring theme in Prelims science and environment questions, often through migratory birds. This study gives a clean, testable idea: a bird steering by the Sun must know the time, and a body clock knocked out of step by long flights can send it slightly off course. It also offers an Essay and Ethics illustration about certainty and error.
How a sun compass works
The Earth turns 360 degrees in about 24 hours, so the Sun appears to move across the sky by about 15 degrees an hour. A bird that wants to fly west at 9 am must hold the Sun at a different angle than at 3 pm. That is why it is called a Time-compensated sun compass: the bird corrects for the time using its Circadian rhythm.
What the study found
- 1Long eastward flightThe bird crosses into areas where the local solar time is later.
- 2Clock lagsIts internal clock falls up to an hour behind local time.
- 3Wrong Sun angleIt expects the Sun where it would be at an earlier hour.
- 4Clockwise driftIt turns slightly off course, even along a visible coast.
- 5CorrectionIt reassesses its position and gets home with a small detour.
The bird and the bigger lesson
The Manx shearwater is an ocean wanderer that returns to island burrows, so it must find its way over open sea. Its problem is a form of Jet lag, the same mismatch human travellers feel. The Indian Express editorial turns this into a reflection: confidence in a destination does not guarantee the right route, and the wiser course is to hold assumptions with humility. That is a useful example for Essay topics on wisdom, truth and certainty.
Exam angle
For Prelims, remember that the sun compass is time-compensated and depends on the internal clock. For Mains GS3, use it as an example of science explaining everyday phenomena such as jet lag across species.
Go deeper
Why it matters for UPSC
Prelims regularly asks about migratory birds and the science of migration. This study explains the mechanism behind one navigation method in plain terms. The editorial also gives Essay and GS4 material on the limits of certainty.
The core idea
A Time-compensated sun compass needs an accurate Circadian rhythm. The Manx shearwater flies long distances over the Atlantic, crossing into different local solar times. Its internal clock lags, which is a form of Jet lag, and it misreads the Sun. The Oxford team found the resulting drift was clockwise on eastward flights and persisted even over coastlines.
Numbers and dates to remember
- About 20 years of GPS tracking data.
- 1,045 birds and 3,688 foraging trips analysed.
- Internal clock lag of up to an hour after eastward flights.
- Published in Science in late October 2026; Indian Express editorial on 8 November 2026.
- The Sun appears to move about 15 degrees an hour (360 degrees in 24 hours).
Where to go next
- Time-compensated sun compass: how the Sun gives direction.
- Circadian rhythm: the internal clock behind it.
- Manx shearwater: the bird in the study.
- Jet lag: what happens when the clock and local time disagree.
Go deeper: what the study does and does not show
What is new. The study looks for the effect in wild birds on their natural trips, using two decades of GPS data rather than a single experiment. The drift direction, clockwise on eastward flights, matches what a lagging Circadian rhythm would predict for a Time-compensated sun compass.
Ruling out the alternative. Birds may also sense the Earth's magnetic field. The researchers' models found that sun-compass error explained the pattern better than magnetic changes. That strengthens the case that the Sun is a primary cue for the Manx shearwater on these trips.
Trusting the Sun over the coast. One might expect a bird to correct itself on seeing land. Instead, birds flew closer to shore when the predicted error pointed landward and farther out when it pointed seaward. This suggests a strong reliance on the internal compass even when other cues are present.
Keeping it in proportion. The errors were small. Birds reassess their position and correct course, so the detours are modest. The researchers say the next step is to understand how such errors affect the birds.
The editorial's argument. The Indian Express links the finding to human Jet lag and to the limits of certainty: a navigator can be sure of where it is going and still be wrong about how to get there. In an Essay, this is a vivid example for themes such as 'Wisdom finds truth': wisdom includes knowing when one's own instruments may be off.
Time-compensated sun compass
How an animal turns the moving Sun into a fixed direction.
In one line: A time-compensated sun compass is the ability to take a direction from the Sun while correcting for the time of day, because the Sun's position changes as the Earth turns.
Why time matters
The Earth rotates 360 degrees in about 24 hours, so the Sun appears to move about 15 degrees an hour. A fixed angle to the Sun points to a different direction at different times. To fly a steady course, an animal must know the time and adjust the angle.
Who uses it
Many birds and other animals are thought to use the Sun for direction. The Manx shearwater study found wild seabirds relying on it during long foraging trips over the Atlantic. As one of the researchers put it, to use the Sun as a compass 'you have to know what time of day it is'.
Why it is in the news
When the internal clock is wrong, the compass is wrong. Shearwaters whose clocks lagged after eastward flights drifted clockwise.
Where to go next
Circadian rhythm
The internal clock that tells an animal what time it is.
In one line: A circadian rhythm is an internal cycle of about 24 hours that regulates an organism's physiology and behaviour, such as sleep and alertness.
How it keeps time
The body clock runs on its own but is reset each day by external cues, above all light. This resetting keeps internal time in line with local day and night. If a traveller moves quickly to a place where the day starts at a different hour, the clock takes time to catch up.
Why it matters for navigation
An animal using a sun compass relies on this clock to know what time it is. If the clock is behind or ahead of local solar time, the animal reads the Sun's position wrongly. In the Manx shearwater study, clocks lagged by up to an hour after eastward flights.
Wider relevance
Circadian rhythms matter in human health too, for shift workers and travellers, which makes this a general science topic.
Where to go next
Manx shearwater
The ocean-going seabird whose GPS tracks revealed the effect.
In one line: The Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) is a seabird, closely related to albatrosses, that breeds on islands off the western coasts of the UK and Ireland and forages far out over the Atlantic.
Why it suits this research
It makes long foraging trips, some to feeding grounds about 1,000 km west of its colonies, and then must find its way back to a small island burrow. Oxford researchers have tagged these birds with GPS trackers for about two decades. One tracked bird bred on the island of Rùm in Scotland.
What the data showed
Across 1,045 birds and 3,688 trips, eastward flights left the birds' clocks behind local time and their courses drifted clockwise. The effect was small and the birds corrected course as they went.
Where to go next
Jet lag
What happens when the body clock and local time disagree.
In one line: Jet lag is the mismatch between the body's internal clock and local time after rapid travel across time zones.
Why it happens
The circadian clock is reset gradually by daylight. After a fast journey east or west, local sunrise and sunset come at hours the body does not expect. Until the clock adjusts, the body behaves as if it were still in the old time zone.
In birds
The Manx shearwater study shows animals can suffer a version of this too. Flying east, the birds' clocks fell behind local solar time by up to an hour. Because they steer by the Sun, this showed up not as tiredness but as a small, steady navigational error.
The editorial's twist
The Indian Express uses this to make a human point: a navigator can be confident of the destination and still be lost because of a small internal error, so it is wise to hold assumptions with humility.
Where to go next
Take the 8 November 2026 quiz: 30 Prelims-style questions with answers