Martin, G R and Osorio, D (2008) Vision in birds. In: Basbaum, AI, Kaneko, A, Shepherd, GM and Westheimer, G (eds.) The senses: a comprehensive reference. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp. 25-52. ISBN 9780123708809

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Abstract

Vision is essential for birds, but the metabolic demands of retinal processing, and also the costs of carrying large eyes, are likely to impose strong selective pressures to optimize performance. This chapter describes how birds acquire visual information, and in particular general principles in physiological optics, and image coding by the photoreceptors. Birds are compared to other animal groups such as insects and primates, while the ways in which eyes differ between birds are related to their visual ecology. Of particular relevance are the light level at which a species is active, how the bird forages and captures its food, and whether it is aquatic. The main topics discussed are as follows: physiological optics, accommodation, visual fields, photoreceptor spectral sensitivities and the function of colored oil droplets, and the way in which signals from the different types of photoreceptor are used in visual behavior.

Item Type:	Book Section
Schools and Departments:	School of Life Sciences > Evolution, Behaviour and Environment
Depositing User:	Daniel ColacoOsorio
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 20:34
Last Modified:	02 Aug 2018 16:38
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/26666

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