Bird Anatomy: Supraorbital Ridge

Birds of prey have excellent vision, they need it to be able to see prey from perched in a tree or soaring high above the ground. Though, something can get in the way of their vision, making it difficult to clearly see, especially when out in the open, and that is the sun. Many times if you are out and about on a sunny day you may put on a hat, possibly to help keep the sun’s glare off your eyes. That’s not something a bird can do though, to help with this issue, birds like hawks, eagles and other birds of prey have evolved to have their own build in sun shade over their eyes. This adaptation is called the supraorbital ridge, which is a bony ridge above the eye which many times gives the bird a glaring or menacing look. On top of helping keep the sun out of their eyes, this ridge may also help protect their eyes from branches and other objects when flying through forests or other places with thick vegetation.