Monday, July 25, 2011

Budgie Vision (4)

I would like to add something to the budgerigar vision series: the simple fact that budgies have monocular vision. Basically, this means they can use each eye independently!

Because of monocular vision, budgerigars have a wide field of view. Photo © nkj.ru
By using their eyes this way, their field of view is increased, as opposed by binocular vision where you use both your eyes at the same time. In case you tried to use both your eyes separately, you will probably know that humans have binocular vision ;)

A budgerigar's eyes are positioned on opposite sides of their head, giving it the ability to see two objects at once - or two predators, coming from different angles. This is a big advantage in the wild.

Other posts in this series:
Budgie Vision (3)
Budgie Vision (2)
Budgie Vision (1)

2 comments:

  1. This is really interesting! But if they can use each eye independently, do they get squint-eyed? o_O

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  2. No, but it's hard to imagine how they do it! It must be amazing to see things coming from two sides. I sometimes wish I had that ability.

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