Kentuckienne
Supporting Vendor
- Oct 9, 2016
- 2,742
- 1,632
- Parrots
- Roommates include Gus, Blue and gold macaw rescue and Coco, secondhand amazon
True Colors: How Birds See the World - National Wildlife Federation
Watching Salty sort colored rings reminded me of something I read and filed away. Humans have three types of cone cells that detect red, green and blue wavelengths of light. Birds have a fourth: a cone cell that detects UV light. Their cone cells also contain a drop of oil that helps them discriminate more shades of colors. The link above includes a photo with a caption that's hard to read, but I think it's showing a parrot with a blue patch of feathers on it's back that glows under ultraviolet light. I wonder what colors birds really see in their toys? Boy is an electrical engineer who worked with IR cameras and I will ask him if he can fix up a UV sensor to take some photos.
Watching Salty sort colored rings reminded me of something I read and filed away. Humans have three types of cone cells that detect red, green and blue wavelengths of light. Birds have a fourth: a cone cell that detects UV light. Their cone cells also contain a drop of oil that helps them discriminate more shades of colors. The link above includes a photo with a caption that's hard to read, but I think it's showing a parrot with a blue patch of feathers on it's back that glows under ultraviolet light. I wonder what colors birds really see in their toys? Boy is an electrical engineer who worked with IR cameras and I will ask him if he can fix up a UV sensor to take some photos.
