Do Birds have Ears?

Birds – An Introduction

According to fossil records from all over the world, birds evolved from dinosaurs which roamed the Earth 163–145 million years ago. Discovered in 1860, the Archeopteryx is considered the ancestor of all birds. Like birds alive today, the Archeopteryx had feathers on its arms and tail. However, it also had teeth and a long bony tail like reptiles. These features make the Archeopteryx a connecting link between reptiles and birds.

With evolution, birds emerged as warm-blooded, flying creatures with forelimbs modified into wings for flight, and hind limbs for settling on trees. Today, birds are recognized as more than 10,400 living species showing the presence of feathers. The major distinguishing feature between birds and all other animals is the presence of feathers. Like mammals, these warm-blooded creatures have a four-chambered heart. Birds have extremely sharp vision, but their senses of smell and hearing are not as well developed.

Birds – Senses and Survival

The manner in which birds perceive the world around them is extremely important for their survival. Birds rely on their senses to determine many of their choices and behaviors for survival. For example, birds use their senses for searching for food, for avoiding predators, for mating, and for flying.

In order to survive, the sense of vision is one of the most important senses in birds. In birds, the eyes may be found on the side of their heads in a lateral position or at the front of their heads ( directed frontally ). Birds with laterally placed eyes can view a wider area (300º for pigeons) as compared to birds with frontally directed eyes (150º for barn owls). However, the lateral placement of eyes leads to a limited ability to focus on a particular object and coordinate eye movements. This ability is known as binocular vision . Due to special pigments in their eyes, birds are able to see ultraviolet light in addition to visible light.

Birds – Hearing for Survival

The sense of hearing in birds is also important for their survival in the wild. How exactly do birds hear? Do birds have ears to hear noises in their surroundings?

Birds have ears, or earholes, that are placed immediately behind and slightly below their eyes. Each earhole may be as big in size as the eye. Birds have small feathers behind the eyes called ear coverts which cover the ear openings. These protect them from the noise of the wind as they fly. Ear coverts also keep out dust and water. Like humans, their ears are divided into three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The outer ear routes noise onto the eardrum and has a short channel, called the meatus . A muscle in the skin around the meatus can partially open or close the ear opening.

Although their ear structure is not that well-developed, hearing is the second most important sense in birds after vision. Birds may hear noise in the frequency ranges from 100 Hz to 14 kHz, which is narrower than the hearing frequency range of humans. Birds use their sense of hearing for communication via songs and calls. They also rely on hearing for hunting food and to hear warnings of danger.

Flesch Kincaid Grade Level: 8.2

Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease: 65.2

Glossary

Archeopteryx: the oldest known fossil bird of the late Jurassic period (163–145 million years ago)

Connecting link: an organism having characteristics of two different groups of organisms

directed frontally: at the front of the head, in an anterior position

binocular vision: vision using both eyes, with the ability to focus on a particular object

ultraviolet light: light with a wavelength in the range of 10 nanometers to 400 nanometers

ear coverts: small feathers behind the eyes covering the ear openings

eardrum: the membrane of the middle ear, which vibrates in response to sound waves

meatus: the passage or channel from the outer ear to the eardrum

frequency: the rate per second of vibration in the form of a wave (such as sound)

References

“Bird.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/animal/bird-animal.

“Do Birds Have Ears?: Bird Spot.” British Birds | Bird Watching | Garden Birds | Bird Spot, 19 Oct. 2022, https://www.birdspot.co.uk/bird-brain/do-birds-have-ears.

“The Origin of Birds – Understanding Evolution.” Understanding Evolution, 28 Oct. 2021, https://evolution.berkeley.edu/what-are-evograms/the-origin-of-birds/.

Orosz, Susan. “Why Birds’ Eyes Are So Different From Ours.” Lafeber® Pet Birds, Lafeber Company, 11 Oct. 2019, https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/why-birds-eye-are-so-different-from-ours/.

White, Deb. “Avian Senses and Survival.” Avian Enrichment, https://www.avianenrichment.com/learn/instinctual-needs/security/avian-senses-and-survival.