born Nov. 20, 1886, Vienna, Austria
died June 12, 1982, Munich, W.Ger.
Zoologist, a pioneer of behavioral physiology.
He received his Ph.D. from the University of Munich, where he subsequently taught. Best known for his studies of bees, he found that bees communicate the distance and direction of a food supply to other members of the colony by two types of rhythmic movement, or dance. Circling indicates that food is within about 250 ft (75 m) of the hive; wagging indicates a greater distance. In 1949 he established that bees, through their perception of polarized light, use the sun as a compass even when it is not visible. He also established that fish can hear and distinguish colours. He shared a 1973 Nobel Prize with Konrad Lorenz and Nikolaas Tinbergen .