Vision in Birds

2020-09-22

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Episode: 7SummaryIt can be argued that, of all the animals, birds are the best at seeing stuff. Most species have an excellent sense of sight.In this episode, I’ll first introduce you to the anatomy of a bird’s eye.Then, we’ll look into (see what I did there?) how birds perceive color and their visual acuity.And last we’ll talk about the difference between monocular and binocular vision in birds.Research CitationsWild hummingbirds and ultraviolet colors (Stoddard et al. 2020. PNAS)

Episode: 7

Summary

It can be argued that, of all the animals, birds are the best at seeing stuff. Most species have an excellent sense of sight.

In this episode, I’ll first introduce you to the anatomy of a bird’s eye.

Then, we’ll look into (see what I did there?) how birds perceive color and their visual acuity.

And last we’ll talk about the difference between monocular and binocular vision in birds.

Research Citations

Wild hummingbirds and ultraviolet colors (Stoddard et al. 2020. PNAS)
Seemingly monochromatic birds are more colorful under UV light (Eaton. 2005. PNAS)

‍Link to this episode on the Science of Birds website

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