Trivia Tuesday: Hearing

Hearing ranks next to sight in its importance to birds and their survival.

The ear openings of birds are hidden under feathers, called auriculars,  on the sides of the head. There is no cartilaginous outer ear as found in humans and other mammals.

Birds are highly social animals, and depend on hearing for communication with others of their kind. Hearing also helps some birds locate prey species, and allows them to be alerted to dangers in their territory.

Although the hearing capability of birds has rarely been measured, some tests have shown their hearing to be more acute than that of man. Owls, parrots and pheasants have especially acute hearing, and most birds can locate the sources of a sound with remarkable accuracy.,

Owls have a moveable skin fold, most prominent along the front edge of the ears that reflects sounds that come to them from behind. The right and left ears of owls are often shaped differently, and usually one ear opening is higher than the other. This allows them to not only hear the tiniest squeaks, but also to pinpoint their location in complete darkness.

During World War I, parrots kept in French fortresses and on the Eiffel Tower warned of the approach of airplanes too far away to be seen by humans. The cackling of the sacred geese of Juno`s temple, which awakened the sleeping guard, saved Rome from an attack by the Gauls. Geese, tree ducks and sheldrakes were often kept by primitive tribes as watchdogs, as these birds feed at night and are quick to respond to any usual sound.

Taken from the book Canadian Feathers: A Loon-atics Guide to Anting, Mimicry and Dump-nesting, by Pat Bumstead