Biology
Spatial Cognition and Nest Site Recall in Ground-Nesting Birds
Quick fact
Some ground-nesting birds, like plovers and terns, can relocate their camouflaged nests from distances of up to 100 meters using a combination of visual landmarks and spatial memory, even when the nest itself is invisible.
Why this is interesting
A plover returns to the exact spot where its eggs lie hidden in the sand, yet the nest is virtually invisible to a human observer. How does it find it so precisely?