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An optical illusion that resembles "looming googly eyes" scares some types of birds, and is being used to keep them away from an airport

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  1. Archimedes
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    Fascinating. How are the visual systems of passerine and corvid species different?

    For some reason, the googly eyes had the same effect on a group of corvids, a family of birds that includes crows. But the stimuli had no effect whatsoever on passerine birds, such as finches, songbirds, and sparrows, which isn’t a complete surprise, given that they have different visual systems.

    Fascinating. How are the visual systems of passerine and corvid species different?

    1 vote
  2. alyaza
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    In an effort to come up with a more effective strategy [to keep birds away from airports], a team of scientists from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the University of Rennes, with some help from the Airbus corporation, applied their knowledge of avian physiology to the problem. By exploiting the powerful visual system of raptors—a group of birds that includes eagles, falcons, and hawks—the scientists were able to devise an optical illusion that effectively dissuades these birds from loitering around airports—and it looks suspiciously like a pair of googly eyes. These findings were published this week in PLoS One.

    Equipped with this finding, the researchers took their looming googly eyes to the real world, namely the the Lourdes-Tarbes-Pyrénées Airport—an area frequented by raptors and other birds. The researchers displayed the wide-eyed glare continuously throughout the day on a pair of strategically located LED screens. Over the course of five weeks, the team recorded no less than 8,800 bird sightings. The superstimulus worked remarkably well, with the scientists noticing dramatic drops in the population of birds within eyesight of the LED screens. Importantly, the birds showed no signs of becoming accustomed to the eyes, even after five weeks.

    At the same time, the size of raptor populations in areas where the screens weren’t visible were normal, which the researchers took as further proof that the effect was working as intended. For some reason, the googly eyes had the same effect on a group of corvids, a family of birds that includes crows. But the stimuli had no effect whatsoever on passerine birds, such as finches, songbirds, and sparrows, which isn’t a complete surprise, given that they have different visual systems.

    This study is “the first to demonstrate, on the basis of both captive and field studies and extensive data collection, the efficiency of a visual non-invasive stimulus to repel birds of prey and corvids from danger areas on an airport,” conclude the authors in the study.
    This is an important finding, and not just because it can keep birds of prey away from airports. A similar system could be used to keep predatory birds away from wind turbines and other human-made hazards. What’s more, this discovery is also telling us something new about raptor vision and avian behavior. Scientists should definitely investigate this further to better understand why raptors have such a problem with these looming googly eyes.