When you think of a species, most often a single visage of a species comes to mind. I say bald eagle for example, and the image of a large bird with a dark brown body, white head and tail, orange beak and piercing yellow eyes. But birds don’t generally look exactly the same as they…
One of the more common large birds you may see overhead throughout North America is the turkey vulture, especially in the spring as they migrate in large numbers northward. One of their features to help identify them when they are in flight, even if they are at a great distance away, is their flight style….
While out hiking in a field, you spot a little american kestrel in a telephone wire. Its back is to you and you notice an interesting pattern on the back of its head, which appears to resemble eyes. These feather patterns aren’t eyes though, they are called ocelli, or false eye spots. This adaptation can…
For birds to survive, they need keen eyesight, to find food, to navigate their environment, find a mate and avoiding becoming something else’s meal. So it is critical to protect their eyes, especially when flying through the air and through vegetation where there is an increased risk of something hitting their eyes and causing abrasions….
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…