Supernavigators

Starred review from March 18, 2019
Barrie (Sextant), a member of the Royal Institute of Navigation, masterfully conveys new discoveries about animal navigation in this impressive popular science work. In addition to the usual suspects, such as the Monarch butterfly, Barrie relates the achievements of more obscure creatures, including the desert ants of North Africa, which use the sun as a compass. He notes that insect brains, despite their tiny size, consistently “generate an impressively diverse repertoire of navigational behavior.” Even the lowly dung beetle is featured, as it is able to roll balls of dung in a straight line—backwards. Each chapter contains a surprise even for those familiar with the topic, such as the theory that homing pigeons make use of smell to navigate. Barrie cleverly stokes readers’ curiosity about the subject with short sections at the end of each chapter describing even more remarkable, still unexplained feats, such as two-inch-long dragonflies that fly at least 3,500 kilometers over the ocean without stopping. More generally, he expresses a wish that what’s been learned about the “neuroscience of navigation” in many species, including humans, might overcome anthropocentrism, driving home that “we are animals too.” This is a must-read for anyone fascinated with the wonders of nature. Agent: Catherine Clarke, Felicity Bryan Associates.