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How do landmarks help birds and fish navigate during migration?

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A herd of wildebeest, including calves, moves across a dusty savanna in Africa with scattered trees visible in the background. — Migration A herd of common wildebeest (*Connochaetes taurinus*) migrating across a dusty savanna in Africa. The animal is a keystone species (i.e., a species with a disproportionately large effect on its biological community) in plains and acacia savanna ecosystems from southeastern Africa to central Kenya.

Animals, including birds and fish, utilize landmarks primarily for navigation over relatively short distances, such as when they are near their home nests or spawning grounds.123

When birds and fish are in familiar territory, they rely on visual and topographical cues to orient themselves. These landmarks can be categorized as:13

Topographical: Features such as mountain ranges, coastlines, and river systems.1
Ecological: Specific vegetation zones.1
Climatic: Air masses that differ in humidity or temperature, as well as prevailing winds.1

For fish, visual bearings are particularly important for recognizing spawning grounds, though they may also use chemical substances as navigational clues. While these landmarks are essential for local orientation, they do not explain how animals successfully navigate across the vast distances covered during long-range migration. For those longer journeys, animals rely on other mechanisms, such as celestial navigation (using the Sun or stars as a compass) and sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic forces.312