The European robin and Turtle dove have had their genetic codes sequenced and assembled for the first time by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators. The genomes, completed today (21 December) will enable researchers to explore the genetic switches controlling bird migration and give insight into the magneto receptors that help robins ‘see’ the Earth’s magnetic fields for navigation. The Turtle dove genome will help conservation efforts to save one of the UK’s fastest declining bird species.