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Life

How birds focus even with eyes on opposite sides of their heads

By Adrian Barnett

28 March 2018

×îÐÂÂé¶¹ÊÓÆµ. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

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fotoska / Getty

It’s difficult to focus your gaze on an object when your eyes are on opposite sides of your head. When European starlings want to focus their gaze, they do so in a unique way: rapidly bobbing their heads from side to side so both eyes get a look.

We humans have our eyes on the front of our heads, so their fields of vision overlap, but most birds have theirs on the sides. Scientists have proposed three ways they might focus on an object: use just one eye, look at the…

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