Bird vision offers sharp insight (original) (raw)

Visual acuity

Nature volume 502, page 624 (2013)Cite this article

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I find the explosion of interest in the visual system of mice surprising, given that murine eyesight is equivalent to 20/2,000 vision in humans. With their 20/50 vision, pigeons might offer a less “blurry picture” of human 20/20 visual acuity (Nature 502, 156–158; 2013).

Mammals and birds have different brain set-ups, but they both have two, similar visual systems (T. Shimizu and A. N. Bowers Behav. Brain Res. 98, 183–191; 1999). Moreover, pigeons could sidestep the logistical and ethical concerns associated with monkey models of visual processing.

Then there are the untouchables — the birds of prey, which could teach us a thing or two about crystal-clear viewing. The eagle's vision, for example, is widely believed to be about 20/4 in human terms.

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  1. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
    Damian Scarf

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Scarf, D. Bird vision offers sharp insight.Nature 502, 624 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/502624e

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