Birds are masters of wonder. The anatomy of its feathers fascinates us, its millimetric flight hypnotizes us, and its song has the ability to calm us. We have never stopped studying birds, since they have abilities that continue to surprise us: for example, guiding their flight using the “compasses” in their eyes.
But have you ever wondered how a bird sees the world?
These winged beings can perceive ultraviolet rays. Unlike us, who only have three photoreceptor cells in the retina to capture light waves that are converted into the colors blue, red and green, birds have four of these ocular neurons. This gives them the ability to perceive ultraviolet rays.
To find out why the gaze of birds and other species has evolved this way, a team of researchers from Lund University in Sweden designed a camera to capture images of vegetation as a bird would see them. The camera recreates the spectral sensitivity of different species of birds, which allowed scientists to compare different views and their variants: for example, between cells that capture ultraviolet and violet, and generating another series of images of vegetation captured in blue, green and red.
Thus, the researchers discovered that the UV vision of birds allows them to better see the contrasts of the vegetation. Dan-Eric Nilsson, professor at the Department of Biology at Lund University, explained it this way:
What appears to be a green mess to humans, consists of clear, easily distinguishable leaves to birds. No one knew this until this study was done.
This helps the birds to be able to see better between the foliage of their habitats, which are usually jungles and dense, dark forests; For birds to fly over them and find food, they need to perceive the ultraviolet rays that radiate from the leaves.
Knowing this not only helps us better understand the evolution of birds and their gaze, but is also an exercise in empathy necessary to understand any other being. And what better if it is one that dazzles us as much as the birds.
* Images: 1, 2) CC; 3, 4) Lund University