Birds have the same basic five senses we do: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. However, their senses are a bit different because they are custom-tailored for the birds way of live. Like people, sight and hearing are the two most important senses for birds.

How widespread or important the sense of smell is in birds has been long debated. Research has shown that Turkey Vultures use smell to locate dead animals to eat. A sense of smell is important for other birds as well. Ocean-wandering birds such as albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters use smell to find food, nest sites, and perhaps even mates.

New Zealand kiwis sniff the ground to find buried worms and grubs in the dark of night. Their nostrils are located near the tip of their long beak. Many birds, however, have a poorly developed sense of smell.

Like mammals, birds have sensitive nerve endings and touch receptors over much of their body surface. The inside of the mouth, tongue, and the bill are especially sensitive. Some birds find their food by touch in the dark. Woodpeckers probe into tree holes with their tongues to feel for insects.

Vision is the MAJOR sense by which birds perceive their environment. Birds can accurately judge distances when flying, landing, and looking for food. Bird eyes can resolve fine detail at considerable distances -an eagle can spot food while flying a mile above the earth.

Bird eyes are huge! Large eyes mean a large, sharp image. In proportion to head weight, a starling eye is 15 times the weight of a human eye. Cone cells in the eyes provide color vision and acuity. Some hawk eyes have five times more cones per square inch than human eyes. Eyes of owls and other nocturnal birds are especially densely packed with rod cells to see better in low light.

Cats are another animal that need terrific eye sight. Select this text to learn how cats in general see the world.

Birds hear over a range of frequencies only slightly greater than that of people. Many birds show remarkable, specialized hearing abilities. So fine-tuned is the hearing of guinea fowl and water fowl that they have been used as watchdogs throughout history.

A Barn Owl can detect, locate, and home in on a tiny mouse by sound alone - from half a block away. Barn Owls tell where faint sounds are coming from by measuring differences in how long sounds take to reach each ear. And so do you! For example, sound coming from your left is louder and arrives earlier to your left ear than to your right.

Select this text if you would like to learn a little about how well another animal, the cat, can hear.

Classroom Activity: Owl and Mouse