  One of the principal models of magnetic sensing in migratory birds rests on
the quantum spin-dynamics of transient radical pairs created photochemically in
ocular cryptochrome proteins. We consider here the role of electron spin
entanglement and coherence in determining the sensitivity of a radical
pair-based geomagnetic compass and the origins of the directional response. It
emerges that the anisotropy of radical pairs formed from spin-polarized
molecular triplets could form the basis of a more sensitive compass sensor than
one founded on the conventional hyperfine-anisotropy model. This property
offers new and more flexible opportunities for the design of biologically
inspired magnetic compass sensors.
